My Angel, My Only
by MissSugarQuill
Summary: People think I'm stupid. I know they do, but I'm not. [Zero centric.]
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

Prologue

======

People think I'm stupid. I know they do, but I'm not.

I just don't like answering stupid questions.

And people have the tendency to ask the most stupid questions you could _ever_ think of.

I also know that people think I'm just a quiet little soul who doesn't care about anything. Who can't smile, who can't feel, who can't enjoy anything.

Well, I can.

But with the life I've led, it's not easy. There are very few people in the world I care about, and even fewer that care about me.

I love my mother, but she left me alone and never came back. I don't know who or where my father is... But I can remember a man playing with me, laughing as he tickled me. Sometimes, I wonder if I had just dreamt that I had parents. But my father wasn't in my life for very long. All I can remember is my mother.

Maybe I didn't have a mother.

But everybody has to have a mother.

And mine was the best.

She just stopped loving me. But I've never stopped loving her. 

I wonder what I did to make her hate me so much as to leave me at the park, with only Jaffy for company. Sometimes, when I think about her for a long time, I get a small spark of hope that she might still love me.

I've never had any friends. I've never spoken to anyone else my age. 

I got sentenced to Camp Green Lake when I tried to 'take a pair of shoes I needed.' I didn't even go to a court trial, because no one cared enough.

I wished my mum had been there.

I just got questioned by the judge, who had came into the shelter wearing ski-pants and a snow-jacket. She had just been at the snow with her family.

Family. What a word.

I wish I had one.

The judge gave me a choice.

Camp Green Lake, or jail.

I had always wanted to be in the Cub Scouts. I always wanted to go on camp.

You can guess my choice.

The other boys in D-tent were okay. They kept to themselves and I kept to myself. They got along together quite well, though, but none of them ventured to talk to me.

I guess it's my fault.

When Stanley came, things changed. I knew it was my fault he was at the 'lake', so I, in a way, tried to make it up to him.

I felt like I owed him heaps.

So listen to my story...

======

---->A/N: Hello! Yes, it's ME again, the girl you all thought could only write cheesy romance HP fics. Lol. This chapter was short, I KNOW!, but it gets longer so never fear! This story is completely based on ZERO the 'lil boy in Holes. It's all about his life, but beware, most of this story is like the re-telling of Holes... only BETTER!

Okay, don't mind me. The RANDOM CAPITALIZATION is just... random. The prologue is about the only part of the story that is done directly from Zero's POV. Keep readin' plz! I promise, this story gets better! --MSQ. 


	2. How It Started

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

**Chapter One ll How It Started**

======

Sapphire closed her tired eyes as she tried to concentrate on what to do. Two days ago, she had learnt that her husband had been killed in a car accident.

Before that, they had been a happy family. A happy family with their small son, Hector. Hector was barely eighteen months old, and he had already lost his father.

Sapphire wasn't sure she could cope. 

Her mother, Lena Zeroni, walked into the kitchen, cradling Hector in her arms. She was softly singing 'If only, if only' to him. The baby was sleeping peacefully.

"Mother," Sapphire said in a strained voice, "What am I supposed to do? Hector can't grow up without John... he cannot grow up without a father. And I need to find a job, to support him, and to keep the house..."

"You and Hector can come live with me," Lena said firmly, as she gently set the small baby down into the playpen in the kitchen, "And you are welcome to stay for as long as you want, until you can find a job and get back onto your feet."

But Sapphire did not accept her mother's offer.

"That won't do me any good," she explained, "I need to rely on myself, mother. But I'm not sure I can take care of Hector at the same time..."

"Then he can come live with me while you find a job and make some money. Sapphire my dear, I am here to help you," Lena said softly, determined to help her daughter to the end.

Sapphire smiled and hugged her mother, "I appreciate your offer mother, but moving back in with you is not the answer."

"Whatever you think is best, my dear."

One week later, Sapphire was in a mess. She decided she would take up on her mother's offer, when she recieved horrible news. Her parents had both died in another car accident.

Feeling as though her family was suffering a terrible curse, Sapphire threw herself on her bed and cried, and cried, and cried. She only stopped when she heard Hector's small wails in his little yellow bedroom.

She miserably shuffled to her son's aid, and cradled him softly in her arms.

"I love you, Hector," she murmured, holding him close, "I'll never let go of you. Never."

Hector looked up at his mother with wide dark eyes. A small smile lit his face.

Sapphire smiled at him sadly, and began to rock him gently. Softly, she hummed. 

_"If only, if only,_   
_The moon speaks no reply,_   
_Reflecting the sun and all that's gone by._   
_Be strong my weary wolf, turn around boldly,_   
_Fly high, my baby bird,_   
_My angel, my only."_

---

Sapphire struggled to her feet and found a small-paying job that fed her and Hector, and kept them clothed and content.

But it was terribly difficult to pay the rent for their house. She managed for a couple of years.

She celebrated Hector's fourth birthday, and the two had lots of fun eating cake and taking photos. But Sapphire knew these happy times couldn't last forever.

When she left to go to work, she'd tell small Hector to wait for her in the house. Stay in the living room. Stay in your bedroom. Stay in the kitchen.

He was a smart and obedient child. Sapphire had feared at first that Hector would need lots of taking care of at the age of four, but to her surprise, he managed alright.

Then one day, they were evicted out of their house.

Homeless people weren't allowed to work.

Sapphire lost her job.

She desperately searched for another one, but no one seemed to want to hire a homeless person. It was all hopeless.

Of course, she couldn't take Hector with her whenever she went on job interviews.

"Stay here on this porch step. Now don't leave here until I get back," she'd tell him.

So he would stay there, alone. Hugging himself tightly, curled up into a tight ball.

Sapphire always came back for him.

She still had a little money left to buy them enough food to satisfy their grumbling stomachs. She always fed her son first, making sure he was full before she began to eat the leftovers.

One week passed by, and Sapphire couldn't believe she and her own son were living on the streets. What kind of life was she putting Hector into?

Sometimes, she'd sit down and cry. Hector wouldn't understand what was wrong, but he'd put his arms around her just like she did whenever he felt sad.

When it became crucial, Sapphire began to take food without paying for it. It was the only way she could think of of keeping her son alive.

Hector learnt the way of 'taking whatever they needed' quickly, and began to practice it himself. His mummy would always tell him that they could only take what they needed.

"Never take anymore," Sapphire took care to tell him, whenever they made off with some bread and fruit.

Hector didn't know it was classified as _stealing._

Sapphire got another job, but it was very small-paying. She only worked two mornings a week, and she did not earn very much. But it was better than nothing. They didn't have to steal as much food, and after saving up quite a bit, Sapphire managed to buy decent clothes for herself and Hector. It was important to keep up appearances.

This continued on for a couple of years. They found refuge in homeless shelters when the weather was particularly bad, but other than that, they lived on the streets. Hector liked sleeping outside. He grew up to be a gentle, quiet kid. Sapphire was surprised at this. She had seen other homeless children, and they weren't exactly gentle.

All the same, she was grateful.

Hector was almost ten years old when Sapphire left him at Laney Park. She was off on another job interview, although she already had another job. This one promised a better paycheck and work environment, however.

Hector watched the other children playing, while he waited. He hugged his stuffed giraffe, Jaffy, while he watched. They all seemed to be having a lot of fun.

When Hector knew it was lunch time, he dug into his pockets and took out the few cookies left. He chewed on them, while he waited.

While he waited...

A couple of little girls were playing on the playscape happily. Hector was sitting in the corner of the park, on a clear patch of grass. While he waited.

He wondered if he'd ever have someone to play with.

The sky was growing dark, and the wind had a certain chill in it. Hector wondered where his mother was. She didn't generally come back so late, though it had happened on a few occasions.

He crawled up onto the playscape, and into the small tunnel between the swinging bridge and the slide. Still hugging Jaffy tightly, Hector pressed his small body against the side of the tunnel, and fell asleep.

By the next morning, Sapphire still wasn't back. Hector trembled at the thought of what might have happened to her. He staggered out of the tunnel, and carefully slid down the slide.

It was no fun.

It was still cold, but Hector felt hungry. He shuffled over to the corner store where his mother had taught him to look for food, and carefully took a banana without anyone noticing. He peeled it and bit into it as he crossed the road back to Laney Park.

He waited in his special corner, for another day. But his mother never came back.

Another day passed by. Then another. And another. A week went by, and still Sapphire didn't come back for a small boy who was waiting persistently for her. Hector always went to the corner store to get food. He didn't take too much. Just a little bit, enough for him to survive on. The store owner caught him, but didn't get angry. He felt sympathy towards the poor boy, and always let him take whatever he needed.

Hector waited for another week. Hugging Jaffy tightly, he watched a birthday party happening at the picnic table next to the playscape. He was still sitting there.

He knew he wasn't supposed to be there. But he was fascinated, all the same. He hoisted himself onto the slide, and slid down. Jaffy came tumbling down after him, and he picked him up. He was about to retreat to his usual corner, when a pretty little girl walked up to him.

"Hi," she said shyly, "Do you wanna play with us? We're having lots of fun!"

Hector's head spun. _She wants to play with me? Why?_

It had been the first time someone had asked him to play with them, and he was astounded. But he knew he wasn't allowed to. He didn't belong at the party.

So Hector Zeroni shook his small, ruddy head, and began to walk away to his corner. 

Later, a little boy ran up to him, holding a plate of cake.

"Want some?" he asked cheerfully.

Hector stared at him, feeling the same feeling of dizziness that he had felt when the little girl had asked him to play.

True, he _did_ felt a little hungry, and was about to nod his head when suddenly--

"Go away!"

A tall woman with blonde curly hair came running up to the little boy. She looked at Hector as if he was some kind of monster, and took the little boy's hand.

"Stay away from him, children. You don't want to play with him," she told the other kids, pointing at Hector.

Hector felt so scared that he began to run. He wanted to get as far away as he could from Laney Park, even if his mother might come back looking for him one day.

He forgot Jaffy.

Later that night, Hector found his way back to the corner store and got a sandwich and a bottle of water from the kind owner. He let the small boy eat in his warm store, until it was closing time.

Hector smiled at him, then left. He eventually went back to Laney Park, but he couldn't find Jaffy anywhere.

He waited for another two weeks, when he finally concluded that his mother wasn't coming back for him.

So with tears of disappointment in his eyes, Hector left Laney Park, wondering what might have happened to Sapphire.

======

---- A/N: ((sob)) Poor 'lil Zero. He is sooo adorable and his life was sooo sad and -- and -- ((cries)). THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS!! ((grins)) --MSQ.


	3. Destiny's Shoes

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

Chapter Two ll Destiny's Shoes

======

Hector Zeroni lived on the streets for the next two years. He didn't follow the usual ways of street children, and was not at all violent. All he hoped for, was for his mother to come back.

He just didn't understand where she had gone to.

When the weather was terrible, he'd find refuge at the homeless shelter. But he had to find someone to pretend to be his mother, first. Or else they would've branded him as a ward of the state. He had no idea what that meant, but it didn't sound too nice.

Hector felt like he had to be really careful. His mother had always told him not to talk to strangers and not to say that she had left him alone for the time being. It was their little secret. When he had asked her why he couldn't tell them, she had simply hugged him tightly and murmured that they would take him away from her.

And now she was gone. Maybe he hadn't been careful enough. Maybe he had accidentally told someone that she walked away. But Hector was sure he hadn't; he didn't like talking to anyone. He kept to himself and took care of himself.

He watched the Cub Scouts in their blue uniforms, and pretended that he was a scout too.

Life didn't seem to have high hopes for Hector. He got his food from the same corner store, and slept wherever he found refuge. He liked sleeping outside. Most of the time at a bus stop. When he really needed something, he would go to the homeless shelter and take something that other people had donated.

Hector yawned and stretched, feeling deliriously happy and warm. He got up and shuffled towards the corner store. On his way, he found a book. Curious, he picked it up and sat onto the pathway, flicking through it.

It was a book on math.

He looked at the first few pages, feeling intruiged by it. After the sun was high up in the sky and he could no longer ignore the hungry feeling in his stomach, Hector went to the corner store, where he was greeted by the store owner.

"Thank you," Hector murmured with a grateful smile, when he collected his usual breakfast meal of a ham sandwich, banana and carton of chocolate milk.

"Anytime, Zero," the storekeeper smiled. He had nicknamed him 'Zero' because Hector had told him his surname; Zeroni.

For the next week, Hector looked at the book on math. It didn't really make much sense to him, as he couldn't read. But the numbers seemed to fit together in his mind, and he understood what the book was trying to say.

Hector practiced it with abandoned pencils and on the concrete path. Soon, he was an expert at it. To help time pass by, he would recite the multiplication table that he had taken three days to learn.

Whenever Hector felt that his clothes were dirty, he would wander just outside of the shelter and ask someone to act as his mother. Most of the women he asked obliged, and then he was allowed into the shelter to use the showers, and to get new clothing. Then he'd stay for the evening meal and have a nice warm bed.

But Hector hardly ever went into the shelter. Once a month, he'd treat himself, but he didn't make frequent visits. Only if it was absolutely necessary.

One week, it rained for the entire seven days. He found a nice lady called Cherie who said she'd pretend to be his mother for as long as he wanted her to. Hector stayed at the shelter for the whole week, until it stopped raining. He went over to the donation room, and scrounged around for some new clothes. The shelter volunteers always washed the clothes that the other people had donated, for hygiene reasons.

Hector found a large navy jumper and beige pants that he liked. He changed into them, after taking his shower in the bathrooms. He felt clean, and prepared himself for life back out on the streets, when he decided he needed new shoes as well.

There were banners strung across the ward, where all the beds were. There was a long table, which had lots of items that people had obviously donated. Hector wondered why they had moved them out into the ward, when they should be in the donation room.

_Maybe the donation room has too much stuff in it already._

So Hector looked at the items on the long table. It was almost like a display. There were lots of signs, but he couldn't understand them.

His eyes fell onto a pair of shoes. They were white and had red x's on the back. He decided he liked them. Hector reached in and took them, and walked towards the bed he had slept in. No one seemed to have noticed.

The shoes smelt really bad, Hector decided, as he put them on. But they were still good, and were almost a perfect fit.

Suddenly, there was a yell.

"Where are the shoes?!"

"The shoes are gone!"

A cluster of adults were running around, yelling and shrieking. An astounded-looking lady was staring at the table where all the other items were.

Hector had a feeling they were talking about the shoes he had just put on. But he got up slowly, and made his way out of the shelter.

No one even looked at him.

"The shoes are gone! Find them! Where could they be?!"

Everyone was in chaos, running around. Hector started to feel scared. Once he was outside, he began to run. He forgot to thank Cherie, but he'd just have to do it later. He ran down the bridge, when he heard sirens.

Feeling even more panicked, he bent down and undid the laces of the shoes. Then he scrambled back up, tying the laces together so that whoever found the shoes next would find them as a pair.

Hector grabbed the shoes, and threw them over the bridge. He watched as they sailed through the air. He didn't bother to check where they landed. Further down the bridge, he saw the police car in the distant, coming in his direction.

He tried to look innocent as he slowly walked down the bridge, as if he had been doing that all along.

The police car rushed past him, and Hector watched it as it continued to drive down the bridge. The sirens were flashing and beeping.

Hector sincerely hoped that no one had found the shoes.

Later that day, when he had returned back to the shelter, he was relieved to see things had returned back to normal, though many of the shelter managing people looked concerned and nervous. 

"Clyde Livingston's shoes have been stolen!" he heard an anxious lady tell another.

"No!" gasped the other lady, clasping her open mouth with her hand.

Hector glanced sideways at them. He knew who Clyde Livingston was. He had heard of him being a famous baseball player.

Could it be possible that the sneakers...?

_No_, he told himself,_ Those shoes weren't Clyde Livingston's. They can't have been. It's just not possible._

All the same, Hector looked back to the table where the sneakers had been.

_...I can't have worn a pair of famous sneakers... even it had only been for a few minutes..._

It's just not possible.

---

After a quick breakfast of cocoa pops the next morning at the shelter, Hector concluded that he really needed to wear some shoes. None of the ones in the donation room fitted him.

Well, he'd just have to try and take some from another store.

"Hi Hector, had a nice breakfast?" Cherie came up to him, smiling warmly.

He smiled back and nodded, "Thanks for pretending to be my mum... But I'm leaving now."

Cherie looked hurt and disappointed, "Why?"

Hector paused. It would be almost heaven to him to live at the shelter, but he didn't really feel like he deserved it. It was absurd, the way he thought things.

"My mother told me to wait for her at Laney Park two years ago," Hector finally said, trying to keep his voice steady, "If I stay in the shelter, how will she ever find me?"

"You're still waiting for her?" Cherie said, looking surprised.

Hector swallowed, and nodded. _He knew his mother wasn't coming back. She hated him. That was why she left him._

"Well, I'll miss you," Cherie said, giving him a hug. It was the first time he had recieved a hug from anyone since his mother had left him, and Hector felt warm tears spring into his eyes.

"I'll miss you too," he murmured. Then he smiled one last time, and left the shelter.

He thought he'd be coming back, no matter if it was in a week's time. Or a month's. Or a year's.

He had no idea he'd end up at Camp Green Lake.

Entering the mall, Hector felt glad he had scrubbed up his apperance. He didn't receive any dirty looks from the strangers that were shopping. His jumper and pants were clean, and his pants were so long that they covered his sock-covered feet. No one could see he didn't have any shoes.

He entered a semi-crowded shop, and looked at the shoes on display. He found a pair that were alright to his taste, and took them off the shelf. He sat himself down onto one of the seats, pretending to try the shoes on. Once they were on, he stood up.

Then he began to walk out of the store.

"Hey! You there!"

He just _knew_ that the person was yelling at him.

Hector wasn't sure what he should do. He could either run, turn around, or ignore the person yelling. But no, none of them would work very well. If he ran, he'd be caught by the security guards. If he turned around, well, that was stupid. If he ignored the person, they'd come after him.

So he just remained stationary, waiting for the man to run up to him.

"Let me see your shoes."

Unflinchingly, Hector rolling up one of his pants legs. He didn't really care anymore. After he had received that hug, he realised that all he had wanted was his mother, and she wasn't coming back. So what was there to live for, anyway?

"Did you pay for them?" the man questioned sternly. Everyone had turned to look.

_What a stupid question._

"No."

"Young man, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ring the security. Then your parents."

So Hector let himself be led back into the office of the store. He sat in a chair while the man called for the security.

All the while, he _didn't care_.

Two security guards came down and questioned Hector thoroughly.

"What is your home phone number?" one of them asked.

He didn't say anything.

The guards and the store owner glanced at each other.

"Where are your parents?" they tried again.

Hector didn't say anything.

The guards looked lost.

"I have no parents," he finally whispered.

---

Somehow, the police got involved with the whole fiasco. They arrived at the shelter, and called for a judge for a court trial. But no one seemed to have the heart to arrange one. No one seemed to care.

So the judge arrived at the shelter, in the middle of her skiing holiday.

"Well now, Mr. Zeroni," she said breathlessly, shaking snow out of hair, and sitting down in a seat.

"You have a choice to repay for your offence. Camp Green Lake, or jail."

Hector said nothing. He didn't care.

"He doesn't speak too much," one of the security guards spoke up, "It's like his head's empty. He's got nobody; no family or relations. He _is_ nobody."

Hector still did not react at these harsh words. Perhaps it was because he didn't care.

He just wanted his mother. He could hear her soft, beautiful voice...

_"If only, if only,  
The moon speaks no reply,  
Reflecting the sun and all that's gone by.  
Be strong my weary wolf, turn around boldly,  
Fly high, my baby bird,  
My angel, my only."_

"I once got a prize for selling the most cookies in the Girl Scouts," she'd said in a proud voice.

...Girl Scouts. A camp. Hector remembered how he had wanted to be in the Cub Scouts camp, and wear the blue uniform.

"Vacancies don't last long at Camp Green Lake," the judge said, breaking into his thoughts, "So what do you say, Hector Zeroni? Jail, or Camp Green Lake?"

Hector bowed his head, as if deep in thought. Then he looked up again.

"Camp Green Lake."

======

---->A/N: Oooh, and it begins! In case some of you haven't noticed, I only post the next chapter when I've received at least 5 reviews for my previous one. =] So just keep dropping your comments and I'll be happy! XD 

I watched New York Minute yesterday with my friends. It was okay. But the plot was kind of... typical. Lol, okay, I'm a terrible critic. Anyway, just wanted to thank you all for reviewing. I love Zero too. He's my fave D-tent boy and quite frankly, I think my friends want to kill me because I talk about him and Holes so much. =] Because I love him so much, I decided to write a story about his past, because the book gives us a general idea.

To roguemagic: my email is krazypinkmuffinz. At hotmail. I think you get it. Fanfiction won't let me post the whole address up, so yeah. Lol.

And NO, ZERO IS MINE BWAHAHAHAHA! XD Actually, I've taken quite a liking to Squiddy diddly too. =] --MSQ. 


	4. Camp Green Lake

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

**Chapter Three ll Camp Green Lake**

======

Hector didn't think the handcuffs were very necessary. It wasn't as if he was a potential criminal, or anything. And anyway, the handcuffs were hurting his wrists.

He slowly shuffled off the bus. He didn't have any belongings with him. The guard that had rode on the bus with him took the handcuffs off of Hector, who began to massage his hands.

Hector glanced around the scenery. Complete desert. He saw some grey tents and a few rundown buildings. In the distant, there was a cabin with the only two trees.

He felt the sun beating down on him.

It was horrible. So dry and hot. The bus had been the frying pan.

Now he was in the fire.

And where was the stupid lake?

"This way," the bus guard grunted, leading Hector past a sign that was a load of mumbo-jumbo to him.

Hector walked into an air-conditioned building, where he saw another man. He was chewing on something; occasionally spitting the shells back out.

Hector tuned out while the bus guard and the new man began to talk. He didn't care. Camp Green Lake was a phoney. There _was no lake._ What kind of camp was this, anyway?

He watched as the bus guard handed the new man some papers. He looked at them critically, spitting some shells into an old mug on the table.

"Hector Zeroni," the new man repeated, raising his eyebrows, "What kinda name is that?"

He looked over at Hector, who felt nothing. He was emotionless. He didn't even blink as the man stared at him, chewing on whatever he was chewing on.

The bus guard said something, then waved goodbye.

"My name is Mr. Sir, _Hector_," Mr. Sir said scathingly, laughing a bit, "And you will address me by my name at all times. Understood, _Hector_?"

Hector looked up at him, square in the eyes. He didn't find anything funny about his name, and what was more, he didn't find any meaning in his name.

"My name is not _Hector, _Mr. _Sir_," he said quietly, almost in a whisper, "It's Zero, Mr. _Sir_."

Mr. Sir only looked taken aback for a moment. Then he laughed and clapped Zero on the back, "You've got guts there, Zero. You're not in the Girl Scouts anymore."

"Yes, Mr. Sir."

---

Zero received his uniform from Mr. Sir; orange jumpsuit, orange T-shirt and long white socks. He received two sets of these, one for work, one for relaxation. He also got a little army hat to protect him from the sun, and a plastic canteen.

Mr. Sir led him to D-tent, where he was going to sleep. He met the other six boys there, and his tent counselor, Mr. Pendanski.

"Hello Hector!" he said brightly, while Zero stared at him quizzically.

Mr. Sir just laughed gruffly, spitting out the shells of (Zero finally found out) his sunflower seeds, "His name's not Hector. Gotta nickname before he even met X-Ray. He's Zero, he is."

"Zero," Mr. Pendanski repeated, putting out his hand to shake hands with him. Zero just looked at it.

"No, hey?" Mr. Pendanski said, dropping his hand as Mr. Sir left, "Well then, why don't you go and meet your tent mates, huh, Hector?"

Zero still said nothing.

"Rex! Come over here and say hello to Hector! And you five!" he called to the group of boys that had just came into the tent.

Zero really wished he hadn't. He didn't want to meet anyone.

The six boys were introduced to Zero by Mr. Pendanski as Rex, Theodore, Alan, Ricky, Lewis and Jose.

But they called themselves X-Ray, Armpit, Squid, Zigzag, Barf Bag and Magnet.

"You're Hector?" the black boy called X-Ray said, with a smile.

Zero shook his head, "No, I'm Zero."

"Hey man, he's got a nickname already!" Squid said with a grin, holding his hand up to Zero for a high-five.

Zero ignored him. He had suddenly became aware that his throat was immensely parched and dry. The bus trip has been nine hours long. 

"Where can I get some water?" he asked quietly, looking at the six boys.

"At the showers, there's a little spigot on the side," Magnet finally said, after there was some silence.

Zero said nothing. He nodded slightly and left the tent.

"What a weird little dude," Zigzag said, as soon as Zero had disappeared.

"Little is right," Armpit agreed "Did you see the size of that guy?!"

"I think I feel sick," Barf Bag said suddenly, running out of the tent.

The boys looked after him wearily.

"Well at least he has alot of holes to choose from," Squid said with a grin.

"Throwing up in the tent isn't sanitary," Armpit pointed out.

"Look who's talking!"

Zero had moved towards the shower stalls, which had no roof. With raised eyebrows, he found the spigot Magnet was talking about, and filled his canteen.

Taking a long drink, Zero went back to the tent. Most of the boys had gone to take their showers, but X-Ray and Armpit were still lurking around.

"Hey Zero, you don't have to be so isolated, you know," Armpit called, "We ain't gonna bite or nothin'." 

Zero said nothing. He simply raised and lowered his left shoulder to let him know he had heard. He dumped his canteen on his new bed (a cot) and sat on it.

When X-Ray and Armpit had left to go take their showers, Zero laid back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling, his hands behind his head.

He felt terribly sleepy...

_"If only, if only,_   
_The moon speaks no reply,_   
_Reflecting the sun and all that's gone by._   
_Be strong my weary wolf, turn around boldly,_   
_Fly high, my baby bird,_   
_My angel, my only."_

He was woken up by Magnet and Zigzag, the two boys proclaiming that it was time for dinner.

Zero just nodded and got up, not bothering to say anything. As he left the tent, Zigzag and Magnet glanced at each other. They hadn't had a kid in the D-tent so quiet before.

"Geez, does it hurt just to say one word?" Zigzag muttered.

"Maybe he doesn't know how to talk," Magnet said, walking towards the kitchens.

Zigzag laughed, "Everyone knows how to talk, Mag."

Magnet ignored him, "Not only that, his name's weird. _Zero_. Doesn't that mean nothing?"

"Yup. Maybe he _is_ nothing. I dunno... but I thought Mum said his name was Hector or something..."

"Zero," Magnet repeated, "Strange name... Wonder what kinda digger that 'lil dude is."

"The shovel's probably bigger than him," Zigzag joked, laughing.

---

Zero looked at dinner distastefully. He was at a juvenile camp. What else could he expect?

His tray had a plate of splatter (possibly some kind of beef and vegetable stew), a slice of white bread and an apple.

It was worse than the food served at the shelter. At least you could actually _tell_ what the food was at the homeless shelter, and it didn't taste that bad.

He looked around the room, and decided that he had to sit with the boys in his tent. Reluctantly, he slid into his seat next to Barf Bag, who seemed a little pale.

"You alright there, Barfy?" Squid was saying. Zero tuned out and began to fish down the food.

"So Zero, what'd you do?" X-Ray asked, after awhile.

Zero ignored him. He didn't want to talk.

He didn't want to 'get to know' anyone. He was just here to pay back to the society what he had done wrong.

Nicked a pair of shoes. Chucked them over an overpass. Nicked another pair of shoes. Got busted.

When he didn't say anything for five minutes in succession, X-Ray gave up.

Zero dragged his piece of bread around on his plate, soaking up the juice from the beef-and-vegetable splatter.

Before he knew it, he was in bed. The boys were all talking. He didn't join in. He didn't belong anywhere. Not at that birthday party at Laney Park so many years ago, and not at this juvenile camp.

He was a nobody.

He hadn't always been a nobody. When his mother was still around, he had been an everybody. Because he was happy.

He wondered what had happened to his mother. Did she disappear? Was she trying to look for him?

Zero felt like he would do anything to find her. But he couldn't even remember her name. All he knew that it was a very pretty name, and it started with an S. Sarah? Saffille? Safia?

S.... Zeroni.

Zeroni.

For some reason, he knew that it was not his father's name. It was his mother's maiden name.

Hector Zeroni.

Zero turned on his side on his cot. The other boys had finally gone to sleep.

Hector Zeroni.

Zero closed his eyes.

_Hector Zeroni doesn't exist anymore._

======

----A/N: This fic will have most of the book's stuff in it, rather than the movie's. I liked the movie better, but I've only seen it once at school, and I had the book with me when I wrote this story. =] But whatever I remember from the movie, I have added in. So it's kind of a mixture of both. Thank you everyone for your lovely reviews! They were really encouraging! --MSQ.


	5. Diggin' Holes

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

**Chapter Four ll Diggin' Holes**

======

They were woken up at 4:30 in the morning. Zero, although he didn't care about a lot of life's problems, thought that that was just a bit _too_ early, even for him.

Zero changed into his work clothes, pressing his lips into a thin line. Then he followed the other boys to the Mess Hall, where they had breakfast. Cereal and orange juice. After breakfast, Zero followed X-Ray to the shower stalls, where they all filled their canteens.

After doing that, Zero continued to follow them to the shed (marked "LIBRARY"), where the boys all collected something. When Zero went up to collect his whatever-it-was, he found out they were shovels.

He wondered what they would need to use them for.

Mr. Pendanski led the boys of D-tent to a part of the desert. It was still very dark, and Zero could still see the stars. Mr. Pendanski was marking something on the dry ground. Once he had finished marking one part, the boy standing closest would shove his shovel into the ground and start digging.

When Mr. Pendanski reached Zero, he smiled grimly at him.

"Well Zero, how was your first night at Camp Green Lake?"

Zero said nothing. He held onto his shovel tightly and stared at Mr. Pendanski.

"You've done something bad, which is why you're here. I think you still have a chance at life, Zero, so you should pay your punishment here as quickly as thoroughly as possible, so you will have a clear record when you are released."

Zero still said nothing. He kept his mouth firmly shut.

"You are here at Camp Green Lake to build character. You are to dig one hole each day; five foot deep and five foot wide. Your shovel is your measuring stick. Digging holes builds character. You take a bad boy, make him dig five feet every day for a year and a half, and it makes him a good boy. If you find anything interesting, you are to report it to me or Mr. Sir, and if the Warden likes it, you'll get the day off."

Silence.

Mr. Pendanski marked the ground with a piece of chalk, "Well then, start digging. Once you finish, you come back to the compound and take a shower, and the rest of the day is yours. Good luck, Zero."

Zero stared after him as he walked away. The other boys were already flinging their dirt onto their dirt piles. For the first time, Zero noticed all the holes in the desert area. They were all adjacent and done in neat rows.

Digging holes... how boring.

But he didn't care.

When did he ever?

So Zero defiantly stabbed his shovel in the dirt, forcing all his energy and anger into it. A huge chunk came out.

Satisfied, Zero began digging away.

One by one, the other boys all stopped digging to stare at Zero in fascination. His dirt pile was big, and his hole was almost one feet deep and one-and-a-half feet wide already. And they had only been digging for about an hour.

"Geez, he's one small kid, but he sure digs one hell of a hole," Zigzag said blankly, staring as Zero continued to throw the dirt over his shoulder.

The others murmured in agreement.

"By far the fastest hole digger I've seen," X-Ray remarked, staring at Zero with faraway eyes.

The seven boys continued to dig their holes for a few more hours, occasionally yelling across at each other and taking swigs from their canteens.

Zero watched as a red pick-up truck began to come over in a cloud of dust. The sun was already up in the sky, but not too high up.

The truck stopped near the site they were digging, and Zero watched as the boys lined up. X-Ray at the front, Magnet at the end.

Zero had always learnt by copying and following others. So he got in line behind Magnet. Mr. Pendanski stepped out of the truck, and he filled the canteens from a little tap on the tank of the truck.

"How're you doing, Zero?" he asked, as he took Zero's canteen and filled it with water. He knew it was pointless asking Zero, but he was just being friendly.

Of course, he ignored Mr. Pendanski. He took his filled canteen, gave a slight nod and walked back to his hole, which was being inspected by Squid and X-Ray.

"How you dig so fast, man?" X-Ray asked Zero, when he came back.

He shrugged, then took a drink from his canteen. He set it down in the dirt and looked at his hands. There was a small blister forming on his right hand, but other than that, he felt perfectly fine. Life on the streets had made him used to harsh conditions.

The boys went back to digging. The sun came higher and higher up in the sky. Zero began to feel the heat rising up in his body. It was getting hotter and hotter.

Zero wiped the sweat off of his brow. He shoved the shovel deeper into the ground and flung it onto his rising dirt pile.

He stopped for a moment, and leant on his shovel for support. He was growing tired. It was then when he was leaning on his shovel that he realised he couldn't exactly lean on it. The shovel was a fragment of an inch taller than him.

What a world.

Grimacing, Zero held the shovel properly again and continued to dig away at his hole. When it was noon the water truck came, with Mr. Sir driving this time. He filled their canteens and gave them their lunch in burlap sacks, very much like the sack that contained his sunflower seeds.

"How's it goin' Zero?" Mr. Sir asked, turning on the nozzle.

Zero shrugged, then took his canteen and lunch from Mr. Sir.

He didn't feel particularly hungry.

Maybe he should just continue to dig, then eat later when he was back in his tent.

Glancing over at the others, Zero wished he hadn't. He had just been in time to watch Barf Bag double over, then throw up in his own hole.

Zero shuffled towards his hole and slumped down against his dirt pile. He peeked into his sack. There was a spam ham sandwich, some sort of cheese crackers and an orange.

He stuffed the food down and peeled his orange slowly. He tossed the peels into the air, and watched them fall back down. The bright orange colour reminded him of his small yellow bedroom...

Straining his memory, Zero took a slice of the orange and crammed the piece into his mouth. The sweet juice felt like heaven in his dry mouth.

His memory of his mother was starting to slip away. He could hardly remember what she looked like.

Sighing, Zero got up once again. He picked up his shovel, blew some of the brown locks away from his forehead, and continued to dig.

---

There. Five feet deep, five feet wide.

Zero was the first to finish digging.

All the other boys had crowded around to look.

"I wish my first hole had been that easy!" Squid said in awe, "I remember that hole... that was real hard, man."

"Tough, dude," X-Ray agreed, lightly punching Zero's arm.

"How'd you do it?" Zigzag wanted to know.

Zero just shrugged. He picked up his canteen and took a long drink. The others watched him with intensity.

Then Zero gathered up the last of his saliva, and spat into his hole.

He picked up his canteen and shovel, and began to walk back to the compound.

"He is still the weirdest dude I've ever met," Magnet stated, watching Zero's retreating back.

"And how'd he know to spit in his hole?" X-Ray wondered out loud.

"I really don't like watching other people spit in their hole," Barf Bag said, looking sick. They all knew that look very well; it was the look he had before he threw up.

"Whoa! PEOPLE, RUN!" Zigzag said, scrambling up from Zero's hole and scattering away. The others all ran off as Barf Bag emptied his stomach of the spam ham sandwich.

---

Zero took his four-minute cold shower, then plopped himself on his cot in the tent. There was a Wreck Room where all the boys were allowed to go to after digging their holes, but he didn't feel like it.

He was desperately fighting his mind for the memory of his mother. If he _ever_ forgot her, he'd _never_ forgive himself...

Armpit entered the tent some moments later. He didn't say a word to Zero, which suited him just fine. He walked over to his crate, collected his clothes and went off to the shower stalls.

_A year and a half of this_, Zero thought miserably, his eyes fluttering shut, _What a world..._

---

A month and a half passed by as Zero continued to dig his holes. He was always the first to finish. He had become the fastest hole-digger around.

But he didn't socialize with anyone at all. He woke up at 4:30am, ate breakfast, got a shovel, had his lunch, dug his hole, took his shower, sat by himself in the Wreck Room, ate his dinner, and went to bed.

And all through that, he didn't speak a word. The others had given up trying to make him talk. Mr. Pendanski and Mr. Sir had grown used to asking him questions and recieving a nod, a shrug or nothing at all in return.

To X-Ray and the others, Zero was just another boy who slept in their tent, another boy who dug up a hole and another boy who sat at their table at dinner and breakfast.

Just another person in their group.

Not that they weren't friendly towards him; they were. But Zero stayed quiet and rarely spoke that it was hard for them to manage a good conversation with him.

While Zero was creating a barrier between him and the others, Barf Bag was growing more and more sick. He threw up more often and couldn't dig his hole properly. But none of the counselors let him rest. He had to dig his hole. He had to build character.

It was all part of the Warden's rule.

Zero wondered who the Warden was.

And why everyone seemed to follow him and his rules. He must be really tough and big.

But of course, Zero didn't care. He was just there to dig his hole. Nothing else.

Building character...

Zero stabbed at the dirt harder than necessary, and threw it over his shoulder.

Above him, he heard some yells and cries.

"What are you doingm Barf Bag?!"

"Watch out!"

"HEY, TAKE CARE THERE'S A SNAKE!"

"_BARF BAG_!"

Zero looked up at Magnet, who was walking past his hole, murmuring his head off what sounded suspiciously like swear words in Spanish.

"What's going on?" Zero wanted to know. It was one of the rare occasions where he spoke. Magnet didn't seemed to be too surprised, though. He was still talking in Spanish, while staring ahead at something Zero couldn't see, as he was too far down in his hole.

Magnet said nothing to him; just offered Zero a hand, which he took. Magnet hoisted him up with one lift, and Zero watched Barf Bag, without his shoe or sock, edging nearer to a rattlesnake.

"Don't do it!" X-Ray yelled.

"Holy crap," Zigzag said, staring wide-eyed.

Zero also stared. Barf Bag gave a cry as the rattlesnake stung him.

The other five boys all swore loudly and ran up to him, as the rattlesnake hissed and slithered away. Zero remained stationary, unable to believe what had just happened.

He watched rattlesnake slide away.

He wondered if he dared to let himself be bitten as well.

Was he insane?!

Zero shook his head clear and ran across to Barf Bag as well. He was moaning in pain and had grown pale and cold with sweat.

"Barfy, you alright?" Squid exclaimed, kneeling beside him.

There was no answer.

"There's the truck!" Armpit yelled, "OI! MUM! _MR. PENDANSKI!_ BARF BAG GOT BITTEN BY A RATTLESNAKE!"

He was running up to the water truck, waving his arms about maniacally.

======

----A/N: Oooh. OOOH. And it shall yet again begin! With Stanley! =] I have a guest speaker! He is completely and utterly ADORABLE! INTRODUCING...

ZERO!

Zero: ((smiles))

Not _just_ Zero, but him at his three-year-old stage, with Jaffy and his WONDERFULLY FLUFFY HAIR! BWAHAHAHA. Hello, Zero. How are you today? Anyway, I do believe you have something to say. HINT, HINT.

Zero: I wike cwookieth.

...Not that, sweetie. The _other_ thing I told you -- I mean, the other thing.

Zero: ...Pweathe review! The authwor will gwive cwookieth! ((grins))

...Well, yeah. The cookies. Right. ((holds cookie jar and gives shifty eyes)) Zero, please repeat to the newcomers!

Zero: PWEATHE REVIEW!

GOOD BOY! You heard the cutie, REVIEW. YAY FOR YOU! Virtual cookies to all! Hehe. PLEASE review... for my birthday? It's in a week! And I shall finally be 13! No more being the only 12-year-old left in the grade! YAYNESS! Lol.

And of course, thank you for reviewing. I mean, where would I be without you? NOWHERE! Exactly! So thanks a lot! =] I would hug you, but I probably live too far away! But if I could, I would track you down and hug you! For the time being, go ahead and hug 'lil Zero. He's sticking around for the next forty-eight hours.

Zero: ((waves))

Well, au revoir! --MSQ.


	6. The New Boy

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

**Chapter Five ll The New Boy**

======

Barf Bag was taken to the hospital. The seven boys in D-tent were reduced to six.

Zero had to finish digging Barf Bag's hole, because of passed-down orders from Warden.

But the next day, he only had to dig one hole.

Zero hoisted himself out of his hole. He took a drink from his canteen, replaced the cap, and spat into his hole.

He was done for another day.

He was about to walk back to the compound when Zigzag gave a shout.

"Look, there's a bus!"

All six boys looked up, and saw a yellow bus in the distance. It was travelling through a cloud of dust, and halted to a stop near Mr Sir's office.

Zero wondered what the bus was doing there. The only means back to civilisation that usually came to Camp Green Lake was the supply truck.

And then, of course, he decided he didn't care. Zero began to head back to the D-tent.

He went and took his shower, heading straight towards the Wreck Room afterwards. He found Magnet, Armpit and Zigzag in there. Zero plopped himself in the seat near them.

"Wassup Zero," Armpit said lazily. It was obvious the three boys hadn't taken their showers yet.

Zero said nothing.

Squid came in at that moment.

"Hey, you guys. There's a new dude replacing Barfy. Mum wants you guys to meet him."

Armpit groaned, "Someone help me up."

It took the combined efforts of Zigzag, Magnet and Squid to hoist Armpit up onto his feet.

"C'mon Zero," Squid said, beckoning the small boy.

Zero blew some curls from his eyes, and followed. Squid entered the tent first, then Magnet, Zigzag and Armpit followed. Zero hung at the back. He stood at the entrance of the tent for a few seconds, before going on.

"Ah, and that's Jose, Theodore and Ricky."

Zero looked up and saw that it had been Mr. Pendanski speaking. He was talking to the new kid. X-Ray was sitting on his cot, staring at the new boy.

"It ain't Thee-o-dore," Armpit said, with a frown, "It's Armpit."

"Magnet."

"Zigzag."

The new kid looked confused. He was overweight and held the expression of being timid. Zero walked right passed him and sat on his bed.

"They all have nicknames," Mr. Pendanski was saying, "However, I prefer to use the names their parents gave them -- the names _society will recognise them _by when they return to become useful and hardworking members of society."

"It ain't just a nickname," Zero heard X-Ray say, "I can see inside you, Mum. You've got a big fat heart."

Mr. Pendanski moved over to Zero.

"This is Zero."

"Yup, that's our man, Zero," X-Ray agreed.

"You know why his name's Zero?" Mr. Pendanski asked, "Because there's nothing inside his head."

He smiled and shook Zero's shoulder playfully.

Zero really wished he wouldn't. He hated the fact that the others all seemed to treat him as if he had no feelings. But all he did was remind himself he didn't care.

He wasn't stupid. He just hated answering stupid questions.

"And that's Mum!" Armpit said joyfully.

Zero tuned out while Mr. Pendanski began to talk again. So what, there was a new kid. All that meant was he wouldn't be at the end of the line when they went to get their water.

Zero came back to earth in time to hear Mr. Pendanski say, "You were all new here once, and you all know what it feels like. I'm counting on every one of you to help Stanley."

Stanley. Zero glanced up at the new kid for a brief moment. So his name was Stanley.

He wondered how long it would take before he got a nickname.

Zero watched them all leave the tent, obviously going off for their showers.

Vacancies don't last long at Camp Green Lake.

What a world.

Stanley... a new kid. Another digger. Another person who slept in their tent.

_Welcome aboard_, he thought dully, _By tomorrow, you'll wish you'd never heard of this place._

---

At dinner, Stanley sat with them.

While Zero was quietly eating at his stewed beef, one of the campers asked Stanley, "What'd you do?"

There was silence for a second, and Zero looked up briefly to see Stanley's confused look.

"They sent you here for a reason."

"Oh. I stole a pair of sneakers."

That caught Zero's attention. He almost choked as his head snapped up at once.

_Sneakers...?_

The other boys were all laughing.

"From a store, or were they on someone's feet?" Squid wanted to know.

Zero really, really, _really_ hoped he had stolen them from a store. Then again, that was exactly what he had done.

"Uh, neither. They belonged to Clyde Livingston," Stanley said slowly.

_Clyde Livingston..._

"Sweet Feet? No way!" X-Ray exclaimed.

"Did they have red X's on the back?" Zero said suddenly, staring at Stanley intently.

All the boys looked at him in amazement. Zero didn't even blink as he waited for Stanley's answer.

"Uhhh, yeah they did actually."

Zero felt his heart sink.

"Whoa, man! You made Zero talk," Zigzag exclaimed.

"Yeah Zero, what else can you do?" Armpit joked, while the boys chuckled.

Those words meant nothing to him. Zero was still recovering from the guilty feeling that he had most likely sent an innocent boy to a juvenile camp.

======

----A/N: Awww! Poor 'lil Zero! Oh well. Tum te tum... thank you for reviewing. Zero's happy too, aren't you! =]

Zero: ((NODS AND WAVES HAPPILY))

Awww, isn't he so adorable. Well, Zero's stickin' around til the end of the story! You know what to say, Zero, right?

Zero: I want cwookieth.

It's always the cookies... argh. I'm going to dispose of that jar!

Zero: ((STARTS CRYING))

Eeeek! Not good. Heres your cookies... grrr. SAY IT NOW, ZERO!

Zero: ((IN BETWEEN CRUNCHES)) Pweathe review and... fank you!

Bwahahahaha. Thank you, Zero. And now, there, there readers. There's plenty of Zero to go around. JUST -- DON'T -- PULL -- OUT -- ANY -- OF -- HIS -- HAIR! ((protects Zero's hair))

Zero: ((SUCKS HIS THUMB))

By the way, it's my birthday on Wednesday! ((grins)) My birthday wish is for the Holes DVD, but I won't be getting that 'cause the next shipment in is on the 18th of August. Well... I will get it... then! Bwahahahaha! By the way... if you originally knew me in writing HP (mainly LJ) stories... well... I really miss you! But if you just knew me through Holes... well... HI! And that's it. Ta ta! --MSQ.


	7. The Caveman

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

**Chapter Six ll The Caveman**

======

The next day, Zero was the first to collect his shovel. He kept an eye on Stanley. He was very interested in him, though he didn't really know why. Maybe because he knew it was probably his fault Stanley was here.

Zero slung his shovel across his shoulders. He was still the smallest kid in Group D. X-Ray was second smallest, but he was still quite a bit taller than Zero. Stanley was now the biggest, followed by Armpit.

Once Mr. Pendanski had marked the area where he was to dig his hole, Zero pushed his shovel into the hard crust, and dug up some dirt. He could hear Mr. Pendanski rattling off intructions to Stanley.

Zero wondered how Stanley would cope with his first hole. Sure, _his_ first hole had been easy, but then, he realised, he was a good digger.

Oh wait, he didn't care. He didn't care how Stanley would cope.

Or did he?

These annoying thoughts made Zero dig faster and harder than necessary.

When it was lunch time, Zero caught himself looking over at Stanley as he ate their lunch of a baloney sandwich, potato chips and chocolate chip cookie.

Brushing the crumbs off of him, Zero got up slowly and took a long drink from his canteen. He decided he would act just a _little_ friendlier to Stanley. After all, it was all his fault he was even here, out in the hot sun digging holes.

And that was something Zero _did_ care about.

He owed Stanley a lot.

Zero wondered how he had discovered the shoes. Maybe he had tripped over them.

Less than two hours after lunch, Zero was done. Another five feet wide, five feet deep hole. He hadn't bothered to count how many holes he had dug since he had arrived at CGL, but then again, he didn't care.

To his surprise, he found Stanley looking at him in amazement.

"You're finished?" he said enviously.

Zero said nothing. He measured his hole with his shovel. Just perfect. Like the previous fifty holes before that.

He pulled himself to the surface. He looked at his hole and spat in it before walking back to the camp compound.

Behind him, he could hear Zigzag distantly say, "Zero's one weird dude..."

And for some reason, those words made the corners of Zero's mouth tug as if threatening to make him smile.

---

Zero was hanging near the pool table, where Armpit and X-Ray were playing pool. He looked up when he saw Stanley enter the Wreck Room.

He felt the urge to call out, "Watch out!", when he saw Stanley trip over one of the other campers from another group.

"Hey, watch it!" the large boy on the couch grunted.

"You watch it," Stanley muttered. He looked tired and annoyed.

The large boy ascended threateningly and jabbed Stanley in the shoulder.

They began to fight.

Zero grabbed onto a six ball from the pool table absently.

X-Ray and Armpit had raced to the scene.

"Be cool," X-Ray said, putting a hand on Stanley's shoulder, "You don't want to mess with the Caveman."

"The Caveman's cool," Armpit agreed.

They led him over to the couch, away from the other camper who was extremely fat. Zero released the six ball, and slowly walked over to X-Ray and Stanley.

"Did you see the Caveman back there?" X-Ray asked Squid, who was sitting on the couch.

"The Caveman's one tough dude," said Squid, lightly punching Stanley's arm.

Stanley was leaning back against the couch.

"I wasn't trying to start anything."

Zero stood behind the couch silently, and none of the boys seemed to notice. He listened to them talk about the first and second holes at Camp Green Lake.

He began to grow bored and tuned out like usual, when Squid suddenly spoke, breaking into Zero's thoughts.

"What's in the box?"

"Uh, paper. I was going to write a letter to my mother."

"Your mother?!" Squid laughed, and Zero looked at him quizzically.

"She'll worry if I don't," Stanley said defensively.

Squid suddenly scowled. Zero didn't understand why.

They spoke a little more, until X-Ray, Armpit and Squid went back over to the pool table. Stanley took out a piece of paper and began to write. He didn't seem to notice that Zero had been standing directly behind him the entire time.

Zero looked at what Stanley was writing. He wished he could read and write.

Stanley stopped writing suddenly, and slowly looked up.

"I don't want her to worry about me," he told him, as if explaining something.

Zero didn't understand what he meant. He just stared at the letter, trying to make sense of the mumbo-jumbo written.

Stanley studied him for a moment, frowning. Then he gave up waiting for Zero's reply, and tried to keep on writing.

"C'mon, Caveman, dinner."

It was Armpit, and he was talking to Stanley.

Zero almost smiled at the confused and lost look on Stanley's face.

"You coming, Caveman?" Squid called over his shoulder.

Stanley looked around. He stared at Squid and Armpit quizzically, but the two boys were already filing out of the Wreck Room.

"I dunno... am I... Caveman?" Stanley murmured to himself, putting away his piece of paper. He got up and slowly began to walk.

Zero, who was walking beside him, shrugged.

"It's better than Barf Bag," he told the surprised-looking Stanley.

---

The next day went by like usual for Zero. Just another day of digging another hole. Pointless.

Stanley was the last to finish digging again. Zero noticed how blistered his hands were, and what a slow digger he was.

He wondered how he might possibly be able to help Stanley. He seemed to be a nice guy, after all.

Stanley had found some sort of fossil thing that day, which was fascinating for all the other boys who had been at CGL for months, and hadn't dug up anything at all except dirt. But Mr. Pendanski said flatly the Warden didn't care about fossils.

Zero still wondered who the Warden was.

When Zero had returned back from his shower, he found the other boys sitting in a circle in the tent with Mr Pendanski. They were all there except for Stanley.

"Hello Zero, come join us," Mr. Pendanski said carelessly, "We're talking about our future careers."

Zero said nothing. He dumped his dirty clothes in his crate and sat in a chair at the back.

He crossed his arms and almost glared at everyone.

A couple of minutes later, Stanley returned. He was covered in dirt and dust, and looked very tired.

Mr. Pendanski greeted him rather much like the way he had greeted Zero. They began to move onto the subject of Magnet becoming an animal trainer.

And of course, Zero tuned out. He almost always did this when other people spoke to each other.

"...so you're Caveman, now, huh? You like digging holes, Caveman?" Mr. Pendanski was asking Stanley.

Stanley said nothing.

"Well, let me tell you something, Caveman. You are here on account of one person. If it wasn't for that person, you wouldn't be here digging holes in the hot sun. You know who that person is?"

"My no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather."

All the boys howled with laughter.

Some rose up in Zero and before he knew it, he felt a big smile cross his face.

"No," Mr. Pendanski said seriously, "That person is you, Stanley. You're the reason you are here. You're responsible for yourself. You messed up your life, and it's up to you to fix it. No one else is going to do it for you -- for any of you."

He looked around at each and every boy.

"You're all special in your own way. You've all got something to offer. You have to think about what you want to do, then do it. Even you, Zero. You're not completely worthless."

Zero felt his smile evaporate as quickly as the water does in the shower stalls at Camp Green Lake.

"What do you want to do with your life?" Mr. Pendanski asked.

Zero hated answering questions. He kept his mouth tightly shut, his arms tightly crossed, and glared at Mr. Pendanski.

"What about it, Zero? What do you like to do?"

Zero said nothing for awhile. He just stared straight through Mr. Pendanski as if he wasn't there.

"I like to dig holes."

======

----A/N: Zero: Hewwo! ((waves happily)) Thwe author ithn't here cauth thwe--

((races in, panting)) I _am_ here! Whadya mean, I'm not?! Hem. HELLO! ((waves at readers)) So lovely for you to be here. ((grins)) I have finally broken up my story into chapters so I'll probably update more often! Some chapters are ridiculously short... others ridiculously long. Well, I guess you'll just have to put up with it! Thanks for all the birthday greetings and what not. =] I had a wonderful b'day. My friend even put pictures of Zero on my birthday card and wrote "ZERO LOVER" across it.

I'm telling, I'm not obsessed!

Well, then, now that that's out of my system... AHEM. Zero?

Zero: ((hugs Jaffy tightly)) Wook over thwere... ((points boredly))

--HE IS POINTING AT A SIGN THAT SAYS "APPLAUSE"--

Argh... DISPOSE OF THAT SIGN. Alright then, I'll say it myself...

EAT COOKIES ANDPLEASEREVIEW! XDDD

Adios, amigos! --MSQ.


	8. The Warden

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

**Chapter Seven ll The Warden**

======

For some reason, Zero felt like, ever since Stanley had came, everything seemed to... be a little more important. He found himself counting the days since Stanley had come, checking to make sure his dirt pile didn't collapse back into his hole, and feeling frustrated when something gross was served for lunch.

Everything he didn't care about before, he was starting to care about now.

It was odd.

He also knew how many holes Stanley had dug. Six holes, and he was digging his seventh one today.

Zero tried to remember how his seventh hole had been, but they were all the same to him.

For the first time he had been at CGL, there was a cloud in the sky. The boys were all coaxing it to edge nearer, in front of the sun, but it was only teasing them.

Zero climbed out of his hole to retrieve his canteen, which he had left lying on the surface. After he had gotten a drink, he saw Zigzag walk up to Stanley.

"What you got there, Caveman?"

Zero watched curiously. He watched as Stanley and Zigzag talked a bit, before walking over to X-Ray.

After a couple more seconds, Zero decided he didn't care. He smiled to himself as he remembered his use of that line.

He went back in his hole and continued to dig.

But when the water truck came, Zero found himself at the end of the line again when X-Ray put Stanley in front of him.

Zero caught Stanley's apologetic look before he faced the front again.

It was no biggie. Zero didn't care if he was at the end of the line.

He still got water, all the same.

---

At dinner that night, Zero couldn't help but wonder why X-Ray had moved Stanley in front of him.

Of course, he didn't really care... yet...

It didn't hurt to wonder, did it?

_Who cares?_ Zero thought firmly, poking at his canned spaghetti, _I'm the one who's to blame when it comes to the theft of the shoes... The least I can do is let him get water before me._

X-Ray seemed quite happy about something, though Zero couldn't guess what. None of the others were talking about it, and Stanley seemed to have a lot on his mind. Zero wished he could socialize with him a bit more. He wondered if he could actually find a way to apologise and explain to Stanley.

_Now I'm thinking crazy_, he thought grimly.

He smiled on the inside, and thought about his mother.

He missed her alot.

Sapphire Zeroni.

Zero froze. _That_ was her name. Sapphire.

He blinked. Ever since Stanley had come to CGL, a little of himself had been returning to him. Zero felt like he was going back through his memories. Before Stanley had came, Zero had been empty and unfeeling.

Now, things were returning back to him.

_"If only, if only,_   
_The moon speaks no reply,_   
_Reflecting the sun and all that's gone by._   
_Be strong my weary wolf, turn around boldly,_   
_Fly high, my baby bird,_   
_My angel, my only."_

---

Breakfast was the usual cereal and orange juice. The seven boys of Group D shoveled it down with their spoons, before going to the shed to get shovels to shovel out dirt.

And another day of hole-digging commenced.

When the water truck came the next morning, Zero sighed on the inside as he got in line behind Stanley. The line shuffled up a bit as X-Ray got his canteen filled by Mr. Pendanski.

Zero took his canteen from Mr. Pendanski, and took a small drink. He was about to head back to his own hole when X-Ray suddenly gave a yell.

"Mum!" X-Ray shouted from down in his hole, "Wait! Mum! I think I might have found something!"

All the other boys dropped their shovels and ran over to him. Mr. Pendanski clambered out of the truck and also jogged over.

He examined the small gold tube that X-Ray had handed to him.

"I think the Warden is going to like this."

"Does X-Ray get the day off?" Squid wanted to know.

"Just keep digging until someone says otherwise," then Mr. Pendanski paused and smiled, "But if I were you, Rex, I wouldn't dig too hard."

He got into the water truck and drove off.

Zero stared as he left. Then he pushed his shovel into his hole, and flicked the dirt out. Fifteen feet away from him, he saw Stanley digging his own hole. He seemed to have gotten better over the days.

A few minutes later, Mr. Pendanski returned. With the Warden.

Zero stared at them as they got out of the cab.

She was a tall woman with red hair, a freckled face and freckled arms. She was wearing a cowboy hat and cowboy boots that were turquoise-studded. Stanley and Zero both stared at her.

They hadn't had the faintest idea that the Warden was female.

She walked straight up to X-Ray, and interrogated him. Zero continued to stare at the whole scenario that was happening. None of the others were digging. They were all staring as well.

The Warden ordered Mr. Pendanski to fill the canteens again. Then he got into the pickup truck and drove X-Ray back to camp, where he could take a double shower and have a clean change of clothes.

Zero smiled grimly to himself.

He didn't care if X-Ray got the day off.

He punched his shovel into the hard dirt.

He liked digging holes.

Not.

"Zero," the Warden called. Zero almost dropped his shovel in surprise.

"I want you to take over X-Ray's hole. Armpit and Squid, you will keep digging where you have been. But you're going to have a helper. Zigzag, you help Armpit. Magnet will help Squid. And Caveman, you'll work with Zero. We're going to dig the dirt twice."

Stanley, who was standing right above Zero's hole, helped him out. Then the two walked over to X-Ray's previous hole.

Meanwhile, the Warden was still rattling off orders.

"Zero will dig it out of the hole, and Caveman will carefully shovel it into a wheelbarrow. Zigzag will do the same for Armpit, and the same with Magnet and Squid. We don't want to miss anything. If either of you find something, you'll both get the rest of the day off, and a double shower. When the wheelbarrows are full, you are to dump them away from this area. We don't want any dirt piles to get in the way."

A certain Zeroni boy asked himself why they needed to do all that. If they were just 'building character', couldn't they just continue digging their five foot holes?

It was almost like... they were looking for something.

Zero dug faster than usual, while Stanley shoveled the excavated dirt into a wheelbarrow. They got much more water than usual, as everytime someone took a drink from their canteen, the Warden would order either Mr. Sir or Mr. Pendanski to re-fill it. The water truck stayed parked there, except for when Mr. Sir had to take water to the other groups.

After a little while, everyone swapped places. Zero had to scoop the dirt into the wheelbarrow, and take it off somewhere when it was full.

It was an interesting routine, but nevertheless, he preferred digging his own hole to digging with a partner, and two other boys.

When the holes were well over six feet deep, the Warden told them to stop.

"All right, that's enough for today. I've waited this long, I can wait another day," she had said.

The six boys walked back to the compound. Zero walked right at the front, where he heard snippits of conversation about cameras and microphones between Stanley, Zigzag and Armpit.

When Zero had dumped his shovel back outside of the shed, he walked into the tent and collected his clean clothes for his shower.

It had been another day, but an interesting one.

======

----A/N: Hi... I know this was boring, as it's just the retelling of Holes, basically... But I swear, it will get... BETTER! Lol. Hehehe. Zero's not here at the moment. He's sick. He's got a cold and he needs to take cough medicine. He'll be better next chapter! =] --MSQ.


	9. My Mother

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

**Chapter Eight ll My Mother**

**======**

The Warden was there again when Group D went out to dig holes. They continued their routine of digging and putting the dirt into the wheelbarrows. When it was lunchtime, it was obvious she was getting impatient.

Zero glanced up at her and frowned, trying to figure out what exactly they were doing. Then he shook his head, and continued to dig.

He didn't care.

"You're not in the Girl Scouts," he heard Mr. Sir's voice above of them.

Zero had no idea how long they had been digging for, but it was well over the usual time he finished digging.

He was exhausted. It had never taken him that long to dig a hole before. But then, they had no limit to their digging their holes at the moment. Before, they stopped when it reached five feet wide and deep. Now they were just digging and digging, and digging...

It kept on going forever and ever.

Zero barely had enough energy to walk back to the compound. He almost collapsed halfway, before Armpit staggered over and helped him back up. Zero had to lean on him all the way back to their tent.

His four minutes of heaven (his shower) was over way too quickly, but he felt better afterwards. Zero entered the Wreck Room and sat by himself in the corner, on an overstuffed chair. He looked over to where Stanley and X-Ray and all the others were, sitting on the opposite side, on their usual couch. X-Ray beckoned him over, but Zero just ignored him. He still didn't want to get to know anyone.

He closed his eyes, and tried to let his childhood memories flood back. He couldn't remember much. It was like his life had started when he came to Camp Green Lake. He could hardly remember anything before that.

Just his mother.

_Two years at Laney Park..._

Zero let out a long breath he didn't know he had been holding. He wished he could take action and look for her. He wished she didn't hate him.

_And then..._

_Jaffy._

The image of his little stuffed giraffe came back. It was working; he was starting to remember things again.

Zero laid his head back, his curly hair getting in the way. It made a nice, soft pillow.

_What else could he remember?_

_..._

"...your _mother_?"

Zero's eyes snapped open. Squid's loud voice had interrupted his trip down memory lane.

"Aren't you going to read it to us?" Armpit was asking Stanley, who said nothing.

"Give him some space," X-Ray said, "If Caveman doesn't want to read it to us, he doesn't have to. It's probably from his girlfriend."

Zero looked over to Stanley to see his reaction. He was smiling.

Zero admired him a bit. He wondered how he could possibly stay so calm and accepting when he was sentenced for a crime that he hadn't commit. Zero wondered if Stanley had even tried to prove his innocence.

Or... maybe Zero had it all mixed up. Maybe Stanley hadn't been the unlucky person who came across the shoes Zero had stolen.

But what were the odds of that?

He tried to relax and clear his mind.

The next time he opened his eyes, Stanley was the only person left in the Wreck Room. Everyone else had gone to dinner.

He was reading something off a piece of paper. Zero watched him curiously, feeling a little envious.

Stanley suddenly let out a short laugh.

"What's so funny?" Zero wanted to know. He had walked up behind Stanley, and was standing a little bit behind, a little bit beside him.

Stanley looked startled.

"Nothing. Just something my mum wrote."

"What'd she say?" Zero asked. He longed for his own mother to talk to him.

"Nothing."

Zero got the idea Stanley didn't want to talk about it. Maybe his mother had written something cruel to him, and he was laughing in a sarcastic manner.

"Oh, sorry."

Stanley looked a bit guilty, "Well, see my dad is trying to invent a way to recycle old sneakers. So the apartment kind of smells bad, because he's always cooking these old sneakers. So anyway, in the letter my mum said she felt sorry for that little old lady who lived in a shoe, you know, because it must have smelt bad there."

Zero didn't understand a single word. He stared blankly. In his mind, Stanley had made little sense.

"You know, the nursery rhyme?"

Zero didn't know what to say.

"You've heard the nursery rhyme about the little old lady who lived in a shoe?" Stanley tried again.

"No," Zero replied. But he wanted to hear it.

Stanley looked amazed.

"How does it go?" Zero wanted to know.

"Didn't you ever watch _Sesame Street_?" Stanley asked him curiously.

Zero continued to stare at him blankly.

Stanley, still looking amazed, just shook his head to dismiss the subject.

"Let's just go to dinner," he said to Zero, who nodded slowly.

======

---- A/N: Hello everyone! Spice of Life, roguemagic13, Nosilla, Holes' Chica, rising waves, Ronniekinsgrl, sophianwin, Mellabee and everyone else I've forgotten... HI! XD And thanks for reviewing, though I only got a few for chapter 8 (really chapter 7)... (SOB) But still, I'm very happy about it. =] As soon as I get five reviews for this chapter, I'll post the next one up! It's long! Hehehe. And here comes Zero!

Zero: ((sneezing into a hanky)) Hewwo! (SNEEZECOUGHSNIFF)

Aawww!

Zero: Fwank woo fwor all thwe cwookies and (SNEEZE) swoup and (COUGH)--

...Um, he'll be better next chapter, I suppose! We'll send him to CGL so all the heat will make him feel less cold. Please review, you little DEARS. They are one thing that motivate me, so plz plz plz review if you don't usually! I'd LOVE to hear ANY types of comments, even flames, but I'll use them to toast marshmallows. Uh oh, I got to go! Adios!

Zero: ((waves while sniffling)) --MSQ.


	10. Sunflower Seeds

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

**Chapter Nine ll Sunflower Seeds**

======

Zero had been counting how many days since they had started digging together. They had been digging for ten days, before the Warden gave up and they returned back to their normal five foot holes.

"This is no bigger than it was when I left you yesterday," the Warden had said, "What have you been doing down there?"

"Nothing," Squid said without thinking. Zero felt like smacking his shovel against his head. What a stupid thing to say. _Nothing._

Armpit returned at that moment, from a bathroom break.

"How nice of you to join us," the Warden said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "And what have you been doing?"

"I had to... you know... go."

Zero felt like laughing. Some emotion had been returned to him. He could start feeling things again. Feeling happy, sad or angry. Simple things, but it was still a start.

Suddenly, the Warden jabbed Armpit with her pitchfork. He stumbled and fell backward into the big hole. The pitchfork left three holes in the front of his shirt, and three tiny spots of blood.

Zero felt a bit sick after that. He was glad Barf Bag had long been gone, otherwise he would've definitely thrown up.

"You're giving these boys too much water," the Warden told Mr. Pendanski.

After that, the Warden didn't come anymore, but they still dug at the big hole. All of them were digging now, and they no longer used the wheelbarrows.

Zero was having trouble shoveling his dirt out up onto the surface, being so small and all. The boys had given him the highest spot in the hole, so that he was closest up to the surface. But it was still hard.

There was a sudden pinging noise, and a thud. He whirled around in time to see Zigzag's shovel disconnect from Stanley's head. Stanley had collapsed onto the dirt.

"I ain't digging that dirt up," Zigzag was saying, "That's your dirt."

"Hey, Mum!" Magnet yelled, "Caveman's been hurt."

Zero dropped his shovel and peered over at Stanley, who was staring up blankly. There was blood dripping down the side of his neck.

Magnet helped Stanley up, and then out of the hole. Zero picked up his shovel and jabbed at the side of the hole a few times so that he had little footholds to step on when he climbed out.

Zero clambered out, and peered over the top of the hole. He watched as Mr. Sir made a bandage out of a piece of his sunflower seed sack.

"It isn't naptime."

When Zero was satisfied that Stanley would be all right, he jumped back down into the big hole. Then he continued digging.

---

Zero scanned the Wreck Room for Stanley, but he wasn't in there. It was the next day, and they had finished their own five foot holes again. Zero was glad.

But the big hole caused a bit of a problem. Sometimes, when the boys weren't careful, they walked straight into it.

It was comical, but still a problem.

Zero went back into the tent, wondering where Stanley was. He found him sitting on his cot, writing another letter, probably.

Stanley didn't even look up, but stopped writing briefly when Zero walked in. He began to write again.

Zero, like the curious person he was, stood behind Stanley again, watching him write. He was still fascinated.

Stanley stopped writing.

"I don't like it when you read over my shoulder, okay?"

Zero didn't say anything. He continued to watch Stanley write. He watched as he wrote another two lines.

"I don't know how," Zero said abruptly.

"What?" Stanley said, stopping again.

"Can you teach me?" Zero asked before he could stop himself.

Stanley looked confused and a little annoyed, "Teach you what, to rock climb?"

Zero hadn't the slightest idea what _he_ was on about.

"What?" Stanly repeated. There was a slight impatient note in his voice now.

Zero took a deep breath, "I want to learn to read and write."

Stanley let out a short chuckle, before turning away. He looked back down at his letter. Zero stared at him.

"Sorry. I don't know how to teach."

"You don't have to teach me how to write," Zero insisted, "Just to read. I don't have anybody to write to."

Stanley half-shrugged, "Sorry."

Zero watched him as he finished writing the letter. Then Zero turned away and left the tent.

Well, that was just tough luck for him. He'd just have to learn to read some other way.

Still, Zero couldn't help but feel disappointed.

---

The next day was the same for Zero. Well, it started off looking the same.

Mr. Sir came with the water truck an hour and a half after lunch. He filled their canteens, reminding them all that this wasn't a Girls Scout camp.

Zero downed the rest of his water from his canteen while Mr. Sir filled Stanley's canteen.

"You diggin' it, Zero?" Mr Sir asked him gruffly, taking his canteen and holding it under the nozzle.

Zero shrugged. He glanced around him and noted that Magnet was missing.

"Thank you, Mr. Sir," he said mechanically. Zero strapped his canteen over his shoulder before walking back to his hole.

Mr. Sir got back in the truck, and started to drive off to Group E.

"Anybody want some sunflower seeds?"

Zero looked up from his hole and saw Magnet, grinning, holding Mr. Sir's burlap sack of seeds.

"Over here," X-Ray called. Zero stopped digging for a moment and watched as the sack sailed through the air to X-Ray.

"How'd you get them without Mr. Sir seeing you?" asked Armpit.

Magnet laughed, "I can't help it. My fingers are like little magnets."

Zero watched silently while X-Ray tossed the sack to Armpit, then to Squid.

"It's sure good to eat something that doesn't come out from a can," Armpit remarked, spitting out the shells.

The sack went from Squid to Zigzag.

Zero looked over to the next destination, which would be Stanley. He was digging his hole, looking worried.

"Coming your way, Caveman," Zigzag called, "Airmail and special delivery..."

Everyone watched as the sack went flying through the air. Zigzag hadn't rolled up the top, and Stanley hadn't bothered to catch it. They landed in his hole and the seeds all spilt out.

"Oh, man!" Magnet groaned.

"Sorry," Stanley said, looking anything but. Zero watched as he tried to sweep the seeds back into the sack. Zero looked away and tried to keep on digging, but he was too interested in what was happening.

"The truck's coming back!" Zigzag shouted.

The boys all yelped and scrambled back to their holes, except for Zero and Stanley who were already in their's.

Stanley was trying to turn over the dirt in his hole to cover the seeds.

He also seemed to be muttering something. Zero could hear the words, "No...dirty...pig...great...grandfather."

Mr. Sir came out of the truck, looking at all the boys with beady eyes.

"Hello, Mr. Sir," X-Ray said, "Back so soon?"

"It seems like you were just here," Armpit said.

"Time flies when you're having fun," Magnet said.

"You Girl Scouts having a good time?" Mr Sir called, moving from one hole to the other. He kicked Magnet's dirt pile, before he moved towards Stanley.

Zero watched as Mr. Sir glanced down at Stanley's hole.

He hoped Stanley had been able to hide the seeds and the sack.

"Well, what do you know, Caveman?" Mr. Sir asked, "It looks like you found something."

Stanley remained stationary.

Zero felt his heart sink. He had a feeling he was seeing what Stanley had to go through when he got arrested for the shoes that he hadn't stolen.

"Dig it out," Mr. Sir ordered, "We'll take it to the Warden. Maybe she'll give you the rest of the day off."

"It's not anything," Stanley muttered, shifting his shovel to his other hand.

"Let me be the judge of that."

Zero continued to watch as Stanley reached down and pulled out the empty sack.

Zero bit his lip.

"So, tell me, Caveman. How did my sack of sunflower seeds get in your hole?"

"I stole it from your truck."

Zero almost fell over. He got another feeling that maybe Stanley had just "admitted" he had taken the shoes.

The poor guy.

Zero stabbed his shovel into the dirt, and turned it over. He wondered how he could help Stanley.

"What happened to all the sunflower seeds?" Mr. Sir demanded.

"I ate them."

"By yourself."

"Yes, Mr. Sir."

Zero tried to think of anyone else that was more loyal than Stanley.

"Hey, Caveman!" Armpit yelled, "How come you didn't share any with us?"

"That's cold, man," X-Ray agreed.

"I thought you were our friend," said Magnet.

Despite Magnet usually being one of the friendliest to him, Zero wanted to thwack his shovel across his head. He wanted to hit so many people with his shovel. Zero glanced down at the weapon in his hands.

Nah, it was a stupid idea.

Zero peered over the top of his hole and watched as Stanley got into the water truck with Mr. Sir.

_If I hadn't thrown the shoes over the bridge, then Stanley wouldn't be going to face the Warden at the moment,_ Zero thought bitterly. He glanced around at the other boys.

"What a good guy," Magnet was saying.

"I'll say," X-Ray agreed, "I always knew the Caveman was cool."

Zero's eyes fell onto Stanley's incomplete hole. It was the smallest out of all of them.

He looked at his shovel.

He owed Stanley.

Then he hoisted himself out of his hole, and clambered to the surface. He walked some twenty feet, before jumping down into Stanley's hole.

"Watcha doin', Zero?" came Armpit's voice.

With a sigh, Zero ignored him and began to dig.

---

Zero dug hard, until Stanley's hole was almost five feet deep and wide.

He stopped, trying to catch his breath. In the distance, he could see Stanley walking back.

Zero quickly scrambled out of his hole, and returned to his own hole. It was almost finished, anyway. Digging Stanley's hole hadn't slowed him down too much.

Zero collapsed in his hole, lying against the side. He took a long drink from his canteen. He felt exhausted.

"Hey, Caveman! You're still alive!" he heard Armpit's voice call from above.

With a small groan, Zero got to his feet and jammed his shovel into the hard dirt.

"What'd you tell her?" Magnet asked.

"I told her I stole the seeds," came Stanley's distant voice.

"Good going."

"What'd she do?" Zero heard Zigzag ask.

"Nothing. She got mad at Mr. Sir for bothering her."

There was silence after that. Zero felt relieved.

He lifted his shovelful of dirt and dumped it on the surface.

"What's this?"

Zero heard Stanley's gleeful voice. He guessed he had discovered his hole.

"Hey, thanks!"

"Don't look at me," X-Ray said.

"Yeah, it was Zero," Armpit said, "I guess the guy likes to dig holes."

"He's a mole," Zero heard Zigzag say, "I think he eats the dirt."

Zero tried not to smile.

"Moles don't eat dirt. Worms eat dirt," X-Ray pointed out.

"Hey Zero, are you some kinda mole or somethin'?" Squid yelled.

Stanley appeared by Zero's hole. He sat down, his legs dangling into his hole.

Zero stopped digging and looked up at him.

"Hey Zero. Why'd you dig my hole, man?" Stanley asked.

Zero didn't say anything for awhile.

"You didn't steal the sunflower seeds," he finally said, stamping on the back of the blade of his shovel.

Stanley's eyes swiveled down to the dirt that was coming out, "Yeah, so? Neither did you."

Zero stared at him, and his eyes seemed to expand. He stopped pushing his shovel into the dirt.

"You didn't steal the shoes, either."

Stanley just looked at him. Zero looked away and scooped out a shovelful of dirt.

"Hey, you still wanna learn how to read and write?" Stanley asked, with a small smile.

Zero looked up at once, "Yeah."

"Alright, you got yourself a deal, bud," Stanley said, holding out his hand.

Zero smiled, and slapped his hand into Stanley's for a quick handshake.

======

---- A/N: Good morning! Thanks so much for your reviews! You guys are the bestest 'lil munchkins I could ever have! =] Hehe, I had cold and burnt pizza for arvo tea. Yuck.

But it was actually quite tasty. And HERE IS ZERO!

((drumroll))

Zero: Hehehe! I'm all bwetter now! Thwankth fwor reviewin' the storwy. Uhhh--

((hisses)) The bribe, Zero, the bribe!

Zero: Oooh! ((beams and holds up a jar of choc chip cookies)) Cwookieth to all who review agwain!

NOOO! It was Mr. Sir's SUNFLOWER SEEDS! NOT MY COOKIES!

Zero: Ooooh... ((hides jar and grins adorably. The audience is full of "awws" and completely forgets about the cookies.))

Phew... That's all, folks!

--MSQ.


	11. Hector Zeroni

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

Chapter Ten ll Hector Zeroni

======

That evening, the two boys were sitting in the tent. Stanley had brought out some paper and a pencil.

"Do you know the alphabet?" he asked Zero.

Zero bit his lip. He had heard of it somewhere, "I think I know some of it. A, B, C, D."

"Keep going," Stanley said, looking at him intently.

Zero had trouble remembering. He looked upwards.

"E..."

"F," Stanley supplied.

"G," Zero said defiantly. He blew some air out of the side of his mouth, so that several of his brown locks billowed up, "H...I...K, P."

"H, I, J, K, L," Stanley corrected.

Something stirred in Zero's memory.

"That's right," he said slowly, "I've heard it before. I just don't have it memorized exactly."

"That's all right," Stanley consoled, "Here, I'll say the whole thing, just to kind of refresh your memory. Then you can try it."

Zero nodded.

"A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z," Stanley said in it's little rhyming-song way.

"A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J... K... L, M, N, O... P, Q, R, S, T, U... V, W, X, Y, Z," Zero repeated slowly.

"Yeah, that's right!" Stanley said, grinning.

"Well, I've heard it before, somewhere," Zero said, trying to pretend it was nothing. But he couldn't help smiling.

After that, Stanley taught him how to write an 'A'.

"Actually, there are two ways to write each letter. That's a capital 'A'. But usually you'll see a small 'a'. You only have capitals at the beginning of a word, and only if it's the start of a sentence, or if it's a proper noun, like a name."

Zero was clueless, but nodded nonetheless. He knew Stanley was trying his best to explain things clearly, and he appreciated that.

As he copied down a small 'a', Zero said, "So there are really fifty-two."

Stanley didn't say anything. Zero glanced at him and saw that he looked puzzled.

"Instead of twenty-six letters. There are really fifty-two," Zero explained.

"I guess that's right..." Stanley looked amazed, "How'd you figure it out?"

As Zero wrote another capital and small 'A', he remained silent.

"Did you add?"

Zero still didn't say anything.

"Did you multiply?"

"That's just how many there are," Zero said, dropping his pencil.

Stanley still looked amazed.

They moved onto the letter 'B'. While Zero was writing his 'b's, he said, "You can teach me ten letters a day. Five capitals, and five smalls. After five days I'll know them all. Except on the last day I'll have to do twelve. Six capitals and six smalls."

Stanley stared at him again, and Zero almost smiled.

"I'll dig part of your hole everyday," Zero offered.

Stanley shook his head, "Nah, that's cool."

"Look," Zero said, his eyebrows raising slightly, "You're a slow digger."

Stanley laughed, "What, so you're baggin' me out now?"

"Yeah, I'm baggin' you out," Zero said with a chuckle, then he grew serious, "If I dig your hole for an hour, our holes will get finished at the same time. Then you can teach me for about an hour."

"Alright then," Stanley agreed.

Zero continued printing his 'B's. Stanley asked him again how he figured out it would take five days.

Zero had no clue himself. All he knew was, that was how many there were. He remembered doing these sort of number thingies a few years ago, but his memory had gone fuzzy on him.

"It's good math," Stanley had said.

"I'm not stupid," Zero replied, finally saying what had been on his mind for months, "I know everybody thinks I am. I just don't like answering their questions."

After the reading and writing lesson, Stanley and Zero had bonded a little bit. This suited Zero perfectly fine.

At dinner, they both went and got their soup. Mr. Sir was in charge of serving the casserole. The left side of his face had swelled to the size of half a cantaloupe. There were three dark purple jagged lines running down his cheek.

Stanley winced when he saw him. Zero stared, amazed. He wondered what had happened. He remembered Stanley telling the others the Warden got mad at Mr. Sir for bothering her. But he had never said they had gotten involved in a _cat fight_ as well.

"What happened to him?" Zero murmured out of the corner of his mouth, while they moved up in line to get rice. There was a metal sort of bench that they could slide their trays across when lining up. It was easier than holding them.

Stanley just shook his head.

"Whoa, what happened to your face?" one of the other campers asked Mr. Sir, when he was getting his casserole.

Mr. Sir dropped the ladle. He grabbed the boy by his collar.

"_Is there something wrong with my face_?"

The boy was choking and gasping for air. Mr. Sir threw him onto the ground. He knocked over a chair and made a table crash as he fell onto the floor.

"Does anyone see anything wrong with my face?"

There was complete silence. No one even coughed.

Mr. Sir walked above the boy, who scrambled back.

"How does my face look to you now?"

"Fine," he gasped, looking terrified.

"Don't you think I'm kinda _purdy_?" "Yes, Mr. Sir," everyone chorused at once.

While this all happened, Zero had kept his head down. He was trying not to laugh.

---

The next day, when the water truck came, Mr. Sir was driving it. No one said anything except for, "Thank you, Mr. Sir."

Zero got his canteen ready as Stanley handed his to Mr. Sir.

"You thirsty, Caveman?"

"Yes, Mr. Sir," Stanley said with a gulp.

Mr. Sir opened the nozzle, but held the canteen right next to the stream of water. The water flowed and splattered onto the dry ground.

Zero stared, wondering what was happening. Had Mr. Sir lost his eyesight?

The stream of water ran for thirty seconds, before Mr. Sir turned it off. He handed Stanley's empty canteen back to him.

"There, that should be plenty."

Stanley was staring at the shrinking dark spot on the ground.

"Thank you, Mr. Sir."

He shuffled away.

Zero cautiously handed his canteen to Mr. Sir. To his relief, his canteen got filled with water.

"Thank you, Mr. Sir," he said. He walked towards Stanley's hole, where he was digging as it was his turn.

Stanley was sitting beside his hole, staring into space.

"Want some water?" Zero offered, handing his canteen to Stanley.

He took it gratefully, and only drank a bit.

Zero picked up the shovel and started digging.

"Hey, you know that gold tube X-Ray found?" Stanley asked him suddenly.

Zero glanced at him, and then nodded, "Yeah."

"Well, I was the one who actually found it. I gave it to X-Ray 'cause we had a sort of deal. Anyway, I just figured out what the tube was."

Zero waited for him to break the news.

Stanley looked at him, "It's half a lipstick container."

"Cool," Zero said slowly, wondering why Stanley was telling him this.

"The initials 'KB' were engraved on it. I reckon it belonged to Kate Barlow."

Zero almost dropped his shovel and laughed aloud. With his eyebrows raised slightly, he leant forward.

"_Kissin'_ Kate Barlow?" he said in disbelief.

Stanley seemed to think to himself for a moment. Then he took another sip from Zero's canteen, and nodded.

"Yup. Kissin' Kate Barlow."

Zero wondered if lack of water caused people to go crazy.

---

Three days later, Zero got annoyed at the other boys who were constantly paying Stanley out because he was digging part of his hole for him.

Honestly, Zero didn't care. It didn't seem like he was digging any extra. And he was learning a lot in return, Stanley was a good teacher.

"Same old story, ain't it, Armpit?" X-Ray had mocked, "The white boy sits around while the black boy does all the work. Ain't that right, Caveman?"

"No, that's not right," Stanley replied.

Zero would've gone to his defence, but he never said anything to the other boys. It was like what Zigzag had said, "He only talks to the Caveman."

The water truck came, and Mr. Sir was driving it again. Sometimes, it angered Zero to watch as Mr. Sir wasted all the water, right in front of Stanley's face. Luckily, Mr. Pendanski filled the canteens more often than usual.

This time, however, Mr. Sir filled Stanley's canteen. Then he suddenly left to the cab of his truck, where he was blocked from view.

"What's he doing in there?" Zero wanted to know.

"I wish I knew," Stanley had replied.

Later that evening, Stanley taught Zero the final six letters of the alphabet. Then he taught Zero how to write his name.

Zero really enjoyed writing his name over and over. Stanley spelt it out for him, and he'd write it down.

_Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero._

He picked up his piece of paper, and smiled at it.

"Zero," he repeated. Then he put down his work, and looked seriously at Stanley, "You know, that's not my real name."

"Really?" Stanley said, looking quizzical, "But I mean, even Pendanski calls you--"

"I know," Zero said, still admiring his writing, "Everyone's always called me Zero, even before I came here."

"Oh. Okay," Stanley said. He didn't know what else to say.

"My real name is Hector."

"Hector."

"Hector Zeroni."

Stanley smiled, and held out his hand, "Nice to meet you, Hector Zeroni."

With a laugh, Zero took it and shook his hand.

He had a warm feeling in his stomach.

_Hector Zeroni has been born again._

======

---->A/N: OH--EM--GEE! I GOT THE HOLES DVD. AHAHHAHA. Hem. Anyway... HI EVERYONE! Thanks for reviewing, ahaha, it's so mad to see all those reviews. ((dances)) Guess what happens in the next chapter? ZERO RUNS AWAY! That means we're kinda gettin' to the good part! Yeah, this story will "fill in the holes" Mr. Sachar so-very-nicely did not. In other words, my story will offer a really odd explanation to where Zero's mother went. It'll be in the epilogue. Oh! And 'lil Zero is in my mummy's bedroom, watching Holes at the moment. His eyes are glued to the tele and I can't coax him over here. Oh, well! I'm sure he loves you all, but he's a bit too pre-occupied with the cookies and DVD all in one! So tata, my pretties, and flyyyyyy! =] --MSQ. 


	12. My Role Model

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

**Chapter Eleven ll My Role Model**

====== 

The weather became increasingly humid, as though it had become so hot that the atmosphere was sweating itself.

A loud boom of thunder echoed across the empty lake.

There was a storm happening way off to the west, beyond the mountains. It was thirty miles away.

Every time the lightning flashed, the dark shape of the mountains would briefly appear.

"C'mon rain!" Armpit shouted, "Blow this way!"

He was waving his shovel wildly in the air, yelling at the dark thunderclouds so very far away. He lost his balance and fell backwards into his hole, causing the boys including Zero to laugh.

"Maybe it'll rain so hard it'll fit up the whole lake. We can go swimming," Squid said, grinning.

"Forty days, and forty nights," X-Ray cracked, "Guess we better start building the ark. Get two of each animal, right?"

Zero used his right foot to push his shovel further into the hard dirt.

"Right," Zigzag scoffed, "Two rattlesnakes, two scorpions and two yellow-spotted lizards. What a world."

Zero almost laughed at Zigzag's last words. Recently, he had been accustomed to 'almost laughing and smiling'.

The next day, Zigzag claimed it was his birthday. No one really knew, for two reasons.

A) They didn't know when Zigzag's real birthday was.   
B) They had no way of knowing what date or month it was.

"It's not your birthday," Squid argued.

"Is too. July the 8th."

Zero was chewing on his toast. He himself had no idea what the date was, and wondered how Zigzag possibly knew.

"I came here on May the 24th," Stanley was saying slowly, "So that means I've been here..."

Numbers fitted quickly in Zero's mind.

"Forty-six days," he replied without thinking. He sipped his orange juice and glanced at Stanley, who was looking amazed again.

"Can I have an extra carton of juice, Mr. Sir? It's my birthday," Zigzag said.

To everyone's surprise, Mr. Sir gave it to him.

--- 

Soon, they were all digging holes again.

Zero took his turn in digging Stanley's hole before lunch.

Zigzag and all the others were still paying him out. On one occasion, Zero had felt the urge to strike Zigzag with his shovel.

He had never been the violent type. But some things at CGL really bothered him. Things he didn't care before, he cared about now.

Holding a shovel made him feel powerful.

Zero ignored that feeling, and tried to take it out on the hard dirt. Stanley was sitting against the dirt pile, trying to battle off the mockery coming from the other boys.

When it was lunchtime, they all lined up like usual to collect their sack lunches and water. Zigzag offered his place to Stanley because, "You're so much better than me."

Then X-Ray took it a step further and told Stanley to get in front of the line.

Zero watched as Stanley hesitated, then walked to the front. He got his canteen filled, and his lunch.

Zero then glanced down at the shovel lying beside Stanley's hole. He felt his fingers twitch.

"I'll give you my cookie if you let me dig your hole," Zigzag was saying, waving his cookie in Stanley's face. Zero was having his canteen filled.

Squid was laughing. Zero frowned. Mr. Pendanski was still filling his canteen. He handed Zero his lunch, before they both turned back around.

Stanley and Zigzag were fighting.

Zero followed Mr. Pendanski over to them.

"Hi, Mum," Armpit greeted, "We were just fooling around."

Zero gazed at him intently.

"I saw what was going on," Mr. Pendanski said, turning to Stanley and Zigzag, "Go ahead, Stanley. Hit him back. You're bigger."

Stanley looked astonished.

"Teach the bully a lesson."

"Yeah, teach me a lesson," Zigzag challenged mockingly.

Stanley looked unsure. Then he raised his hand to hit him, when suddenly Zigzag had his neck in one arm, and was hitting him with his other hand.

Zero clenched his fists. The shovel was too far away.

"That's enough!"

But Zigzag wrestled Stanley onto the ground. Dust was blown up everywhere. Zero scrunched up his eyes. If he had the shovel, he'd have...

"Stop!" Mr. Pendanski tried again.

Zero ran up to Zigzag and jumped on him. He twisted his arm tightly against his neck, and pulled.

Zigzag released Stanley at once and made a gagging noise. He was trying to pull Zero's arm off of him.

Zero wasn't loosening his grip. He was hell pissed. A lot of rage had been building up in him recently.

"You're going to kill him!" Mr. Pendanski shouted.

Zero kept on squeezing. Zigzag was turning purple.

Armpit then charged at them. He pulled Zero off of Zigzag, and the three boys all fell onto the ground, panting.

Mr. Pendanski fired his pistol into the air.

The Warden looked at the boys carelessly. She sighed.

Stanley and Zero were standing on one side. Stanley was in the worst condition. Zero was massaging his arm, an angry scowl on his face. Zigzag was massaging his neck.

"There was a riot," Mr. Pendanski explained to her, "Zero almost killed Ricky."

_He was asking for it_, Zero thought stubbornly.

The boys started talking about how it wasn't a riot, and how the sun made people's blood boiled.

Zero's blood hadn't boiled because of the sun.

He had no idea what had made his blood boil.

It was still bubbling now. Just hadn't reached boiling point yet.

But it would only take one little thing that ticked him off to set it off again--

"Zero's been digging part of Caveman's hole everyday," Squid explained to the Warden.

"I'm teaching him how to read and write," Stanley explained, glancing over at Zero, "He's a really smart kid. It's sort of a trade. The hole still gets dug, so what does it matter who digs it?"

Oh, it was about him digging his hole again.  
  
Zero felt his blood bubble a little more dangerously.

"Isn't it more important for him to read? Doesn't that build character more than digging holes?" Stanley was saying.

Zero stayed silent. He glared up at the Warden, screwing up his eyes when the sun's ray hit him.

"That's his character. What about yours?" the Warden asked.

Zero clenched his fists. Stanley made no reply.

"Well, Zero, what have you learnt so far?" the Warden asked him.

His eyes darted towards the shovel. It was too far away.

And anyway, the Warden wasn't the right person to hit. It wouldn't satisfy his anger enough.

"Have you been digging Caveman's hole for nothing?"

"He likes to dig holes," Mr. Pendanski informed her.

_No I don't._

"Tell me what you learnt yesterday."

Zero stayed silent. Everyone was looking at him.

Mr. Pendanski laughed, and picked up a shovel, "You might as well try to teach this shovel to read! It's got more brains than Zero."

Zero bit his lip. He could taste blood. Mr. Pendanski was seriously asking for it.

"Okay, from now on, I don't want anyone digging anyone else's hole," the Warden ordered, "And no more reading lessons."

Zero stared at her. He took off his canteen slowly, and threw it onto the ground.

"I'm not diggin' another hole," he said quietly, shaking his head.

"Good," the Warden turned to Stanley, "You know why you're digging holes? Because it's good for you. It teaches you a lesson. If Zero digs your hole for you, then you're not learning your lesson, are you?"

"I guess not," Stanley mumbled, "Why can't I dig my own hole, but still teach Zero to read? What's wrong with that?"

"It leads to trouble. Zero almost killed Zigzag," the Warden said.

"It causes him stress," Mr. Pendanski elaborated, "I know you mean well, Stanley, but face it. Zero's too stupid to learn to read. That's what makes his blood boil, not the hot sun."

Mr. Pendanski.

That was who.

Zero felt his blood boil.

"I'm not digging anymore holes," he repeated angrily. But no one noticed his tone. Perhaps Stanley did.

Mr. Pendanski handed the small boy the shovel, "Here, take it, Zero. It's all you'll ever be good at. D -- I -- G."

Zero took the shovel.

Feeling something rise up in him, he swung it like a baseball bat and smashed Mr. Pendanski's face.

Everyone yelped and gasped.

Mr. Pendanski crumpled onto the ground, unconscious.

Zero bent down to him, looking quite calm.

"_Dig_," he answered. Then he straightened up, and glared at the Warden and Mr. Sir, and all the other counselors.

"I hate digging holes," he said quietly, almost a whisper. He slowly backed away, holding his shovel out like a bat. Then he turned around and began to run.

"GO ZERO!" he heard Stanley yell after him. X-Ray and the others also began to cheer. 

====== 

---- A/N: Hola, amigos! Oooh, I so wanna learn Spanish. Anyway, you guys reviewed majorly fast for my last chapter, so I updated quicker this time! =] It's so hot now! It's been freezing here for the past few months, but now it's getting really hot. Like at CGL! 'Tis a fine Saturday morning... almost noon, actually. I slept into about ten o'clock. LOL. =] Something I haven't done for a long time. This chappie was so much fun to write. Zero's still napping at the moment, but he told me to say...

"Thwank woo fwor reviewin' and weadin' abwout mwe."

And he gives one of those killer adorable half-smiles. Aww...

Oh, by the way, this chapter is called "My Role Model" because ever since I saw Zero hit Mr. Pendanski with the shovel, it's been my wildest dreams to do the same thing. Usually, when I get angry at someone, I'll say "If I had a shovel, I'd hit you!"

And besides that, there's nothing more I need to say. Oh, wait. There is. Thank you, Spice of Life, for pointing out that the random-let's-bag-out-Mr.-Sir-camper is actually Squid. In the book, however, it just mentions it was another camper, and I wrote most of this according to the book, with some parts that I remembered off the movie. However, if I _had_ been following the movie, I wouldn't have realised that it was Squid until very recently, when I thought he looked a little familiar...

I hope you understood that. Lol. Anyways, what's in store for next chappie? Hmmm. We shall follow oh-so-cute Zero in the desert, when he stumbles across "Marya Lou"!

But until then, bye bye. --MSQ.


	13. Marya Lou

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

**Chapter Twelve ll Marya Lou**

====== 

Zero ran as fast as he could, dragging the shovel behind him. He didn't know where he was running to. Just away.

It was all Mr. Pendanski's fault. If he hadn't kept twitting about how stupid he was...

Zero wasn't even aware that he was making vicious movements with the shovel. He ran until he couldn't run anymore.

He looked behind him, and couldn't see the compound. Amazing.

He wondered how long he had been running for.

Zero stopped and leant on the shovel for support. He was still about a fragment of an inch shorter than it, but still... he was exhausted. That was completely off the subject but Zero didn't care. Of course.

He was probably going to die out here... He didn't have his canteen.

Just the shovel.

Taking a deep breath, and inhaling the dust, he walked... and walked... and walked...

Meanwhile, the sun just kept getting hotter and hotter. It was his enemy.

Zero's legs felt like they would give way any second. But he managed to stay standing up.

He was stupid. Not in the way Mr. Pendanski had taunted him, but still stupid. 

Why had he ran away?!

Zero knew it was stupid. Camp Green Lake was the only place for a hundred miles all 'round that had water and food. That was why no one ran away.

But he _hated_ digging holes. _Hated_ being held captive. That was why he hadn't liked living in the homeless shelter.

_Hated_ watching the others blame Stanley, when it was _his,_ Zero's, fault.

He _hated_ how people asked stupid questions.

_Hated_ a lot of things.

_Hated_ not knowing what had happened to his mother.

_Hated _Mr. Pendanski. Mr. Sir. The Warden. Zigzag.

_Hated..._

He was running out of things to hate.

The shovel dragged behind him, making a scraping noise. He walked for about an hour, before collapsing onto the ground.

He _hated_ the sun.

It was getting too hot for him. The dust whipped into his face, making it hard to see and breathe.

He coughed, and staggered to his feet, because he knew that if he got too comfortable, he would fall to his death. He used the shovel for support.

Zero walked, thinking about how much he _hated_ everything. On a few occasions, he had almost walked into a hole.

There was a noise. A rattling, hissing noise.

Zero jerked up, immediately alert. It was a rattlesnake. He stared at it. He remembered what Barf Bag had done.

Did he have the guts to do it, too?

It was giving Zero his rattle, warning him to stay away.

Zero took a step closer. _He was going to die anyway..._

_If only, if only._

A clear image of his mother suddenly exploded in his mind. Zero gave a cry and dropped to his knees. The shovel fell with a clang beside him, making the earth vibrate. The rattlesnake hissed and slithered away.

"Why'd you leave me all alone," Zero whimpered, his eyes stinging. A single tear fell from his eye, and he licked it up hungrily.

His mother smiled at him.

_"I love you, Hector. I'll never let go of you. Never."_

Zero didn't remember his mother saying that to him, but he knew she had said to him at one stage in his life.

_I'll never let go of you._

He wondered why she did let go of him. Left him all alone.

Breathing heavily, Zero got to his feet again. He had to keep on walking... Because he didn't want to die. Because he wanted to see Stanley and his mother again.

It was impossible.

His throat was dry and felt like sandpaper. The air was thick with heat and dust. It made him feel that death would be better than this.

When he collapsed for the third time, Zero didn't get up for a long time. Then with a groan, he looked up and thought he saw an angel.

He was hallucinating. That was for sure.

Then he blinked and looked. There was something in the middle of nothing. A fallen over tree trunk?

_Get up. Don't lie here and wait for death to happen._

Zero coughed, and ran his dry tongue over his even more dry lips. He retrieved the shovel.

Then he stayed there.

He kept a visible image of his mother in his mind, and managed to stagger to his feet.

The sun was setting.

And the thing was still visible. He took a step forward, and it didn't run away.

Maybe it was real.

The shovel was so heavy. Heavier than it usually was. Maybe because he was so tired and exhausted.

Grimacing, he dragged his heavy, heavy body and his heavy, heavy shovel towards the thing.

When he finally reached it, it was barely visible. Zero's eyes had grown so heavy they had closed over his eyes.

It was a boat. An upside-down boat half-buried in the dirt.

With the last of his strength, Zero crawled under it and let himself lay down, closing his eyes. The boat shaded him, and it was nice and cool.

_"If only, if only,_   
_The moon speaks no reply,_   
_Reflecting the sun and all that's gone by._   
_Be strong my weary wolf, turn around boldly,_   
_Fly high, my baby bird,_   
_My angel, my only."_

--- 

Zero didn't know how long he had slept for. All he knew was he opened his eyes to find himself under the boat. It was very late afternoon, perhaps early evening.

His throat was very dry and parched.

Then it hit him. _He was still alive._

Rubbing his eyes, Zero sat up a little bit and looked around. He found a wooden crate in the corner of the boat.

With the shovel, Zero banged against the wooden crate. Nothing happened. After experimenting a bit more, he uncovered hinges. Zero fiddled with them a bit, and managed to open the box.

He peered in. With weak hands, he took out a jar of what looked like mud.

Without thinking, he unscrewed the lid of the jar. It came off easily. He brought it to his lips and drank. It was sweet and tangy, and felt wonderful as he hungrily drank all of the jar's contents.

It tasted a bit like peaches.

But Zero didn't care. He felt moisture return back to his mouth.

Panting a little bit because he had drank so quickly; he crawled out from underneath the boat. He tried to look for the camp compound, but he had walked for a few hours so it was impossible to see anything.

He felt dizzy, and was about to crawl back underneath his shelter when he saw peeling red letters painted on the boat.

The letters looked nothing like what Stanley had taught him.

It took Zero a little while to figure out they were upside down.

He twisted his head a bit, and tried to read it.

He sounded it out to himself.

"Mm--ar--yuh. Luh--oh--oo."

Zero scratched his head. He had never heard of _that_ before.

He was too tired.

Zero crawled back under his shelter.

He was going to die.

He stared up at the sky, through the cracks and holes of the boat. It was getting dark.

Dragging the crate over, Zero licked his lips. He peered into the box again, and began to pull out all of the jars, one by one.

"Fifteen," he said to himself, setting down the last jar onto the dirt ground.

There was low, painful rumbling in his stomach. He groaned and clutched it.

The moment passed, and he took several deeps breath.

"Sixteen," he said again, looking at the empty jar in the corner.

Sixteen jars of black slush peaches.

He smiled.

He didn't know why he was smiling.

Zero carefully placed the jars of whatever in the corner. He took one jar, and tried to unscrew it. It was sealed tightly.

He felt so tired.

With a sigh, Zero brought up the jar to the side of the boat and banged against it. Nothing happened. He smashed the top open on the second try.

Zero quickly brought the broken jar to his mouth, and drank it down quickly. It felt so good.

When he finished, he set the broken jar aside. There were now fourteen jars left.

_I wonder what it is,_ he thought vaguely. It was slushy, bubbly and slurpy. Everytime he took a gulp of it, it made a little _'sploosh sploosh' _noise.

"Sploosh," Zero said suddenly, with a smile. He wondered what was wrong with him. He was smiling at the most ridiculous things.

He set his small head comfortably in the corner of the boat, and drifted off to sleep.

====== 

---- A/N: I hope that wasn't too angsty or somethin'! Yeah, you just so have to love Zero. ((squeezes him to death))

Zero: ((gasping)) Need -- air!

Oooh! ((releases)) Sorry. Hehe. So... any last words?

Zero: Wast words?

Oh, you're not going to die or anything. I just said that to add effect. Okay: any words?

Zero: ((nods))

Well, say them!

Zero: But if woo forgwet to come bwack for Madame Zewoni, woo and wur famiwy will be curthed fwor alwayth and eternithy! ((giggles hysterically))

HAHAHAHHA! I just love that part of the movie. Mad. ((smiles))

Zero: ((boredly)) Eat cookieth... or elthe. Eat wowwipopth...

Yeah, yeah. Go eat a DVD, will you?

Zero: ((chews on MSQ's Holes DVD))

=O NOOOOOOO!!!!!!

(BEEP. The end of the chapter comes with MSQ wrestling her precious DVD from little Zero's mouth.)

--MSQ.


	14. Hi, Stanley

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

**Chapter Thirteen ll Hi, Stanley**

====== 

_SMASH._

Satisfied, Zero brought the jar to his lips and took a gulp of the sploosh. It was his third jar.

It was the next morning. It was well over sunrise.

He wondered if he should try to walk back to Camp Green Lake.

He didn't think it was possible. He had spent hours walking to the Mar--ya Lou boat, and he definitely didn't have the strength to spend another few hours walking back.

Mr. Pendanski would probably try to strike _him _with a shovel.

But Zero didn't care. 

He wasn't stupid. He'd probably get the shovel and hit him again. And the Warden. And Mr. Sir. And all those other stupid counselors. And Zigzag.

Zero thought about Stanley. His only friend.

He knew that however badly he felt now, Stanley probably felt worse. He had no way of knowing how Zero was at the moment, whether he was alive or not...

Zero knew that kind of feeling. He had no way of knowing if his mother was alive or not. But at least his mother was in civilization.

Zero was out here all alone in a frying pan. 

That had to be worse.

Taking a deep breath, he leant against the boat. There were only thirteen jars of sploosh left. He'd run out. He had no water and no food.

He was going to die.

Zero cared about that. He didn't want to die, but he didn't want to return to the camp compound. Too many stupid people there. Ignorant people.

Magnet, Armpit and Squid had always looked out for him, though they tried not to make it obvious. But they weren't his friends. They were like... older brothers.

Zero took another gulp of the sploosh.

Stanley was his only friend.

He hated digging holes.

He was good at it. He knew that. But he hated it all the same.

Digging holes to Zero felt like digging towards the truth. Zero didn't know too much about his life. He had forgotten a whole chunk of it.

For the first time in ages, he felt tears sting into his eyes.

As he turned on his side, he realised the thing he wanted most of all was his mother.

--- 

Zero didn't have a whiff of an idea of how long he had stayed under the Mar--ya Lou boat. A couple of days, maybe.

He looked at the jars of sploosh in the corner.

Only two jars left.

With a sigh, he began to calculate.

Well, he had drank two jars on his first evening. Then Zero knew he had drank three a day after that. And now there were two jars left.

He had drank fourteen jars, that meant. Fourteen minus two was twelve. Twelve divided by three was four.

Four and a half days.

Zero spent most of his time napping and thinking. He felt so exhausted and tired. The sploosh helped, but what he really needed was clean water and good food.

He had a feeling it was almost noon.

Zero took the second last jar of sploosh and unscrewed the lid It came off easily, to his surprise. He usually had to smash the jars open.

He drank it down.

He set the empty jar in the corner with the other broken jars.

Zero could feel the sun's rays coming through the cracks in the boat.

His eyes felt heavy, and his head spun.

Zero started to slip away...

_A pretty woman with dark skin and beautiful black hair was singing softly. She held onto my wrists and made my hands clap together._

_I gurgled happily as she smiled and made me clap my hands together some more._

_"If only, if only,_   
_The moon speaks no reply,_   
_Reflecting the sun and all that's gone by._   
_Be strong my weary wolf, turn around boldly,_   
_Fly high, my baby bird,_   
_My angel, my only."_

_She hummed the melody after, smiling at me. She hugged me, then picked me up. My eyes grew heavy as she gently rocked me._

_"I love you, Hector."_

_"I love you, Zero."_

_"Zero."_

_"Zero."_

"Zero?"

The sleep cleared from Zero's mind, and the image of the wood over him came back. He sighed.

He was hearing things.

"Zero?"

Yup. He was definitely hearing things. He was hearing Stanley calling him.

But as his vision cleared, he saw something orange hover over him, through the cracks of the boat.

He shifted his legs, and crawled out a bit. He stuck his head out, into the bright, bright sun.

"Stanley?"

"Zero!"

Zero suddenly felt someone's arm wrap around him for a moment. He struggled to lift his bleary eyes open, and made out the figure of Stanley.

Zero smiled weakly. He was glad Stanley had bothered to come for him.

He noticed the canteen strapped to him.

"Is that water?" Zero asked hopefully. His voice was dry and raspy.

"It's empty. I tried driving the whole water truck here but..." Stanley looked sheepish; "I drove it into a hole."

Zero chuckled weakly, "Figures." He leant his head against the boat and breathed heavily. The sun and thick dusty air made it hard to breathe.

"How you doing?" Stanley asked, his voice full of concern. He put his hand on Zero's forehead and lifted some of his brown curls off his face.

"Not too bad. C'mon, I have to take you back."

Zero shook his head determinedly, "I'm not going back."

"You have to," Stanley insisted, "We both have to."

Zero didn't say anything.

"Want some sploosh?" he suddenly asked, noting that Stanley's voice was dry and raspy like his'.

"Some what?" Stanley asked incredulously.

Zero shaded his eyes with his hand, trying to breathe properly.

"C'mon, it's cooler under the boat."

He slipped back in, and Stanley followed.

Zero took the last jar of sploosh, and tried to unscrew the cap.

"What is that?" Stanley asked anxiously.

"Sploosh!" Zero repeated, his voice strained as he struggled to get the top off, "That's what I call it. They were buried under the boat. I found sixteen jars."

He held the jar up towards the side of the boat, and smashed it.

The sploosh trickled down the jagged edges, and Stanley watched anxiously as Zero licked it off. He picked up the cracked lid and licked the sploosh off of that as well.

It tasted divine, as usual.

"Drink some," Zero offered, handing the jar to Stanley.

Stanley looked unsure as he took the jar of sploosh.

"It's good," Zero encouraged, still licking the cracked lid.

Stanley uncertainly lifted the jar to his lips, and drank some. He closed his eyes as he continued to drink some more.

Zero smiled, "I told you it was good."

Stanley nodded, "How many are left?"

"None," Zero replied contritely.

Stanley looked astonished. With a sigh, he set the jar down onto the dirt, "Now I really have to take you back."

Zero didn't say anything. He licked his fingers carelessly. He was definitely not going back, and even Stanley couldn't make him. His mind was made up.

But inside of him, he yearned to return back to civilization. He wanted to find his mother.

What were the odds of that?

"Look, I got a plan so you won't get in trouble," Stanley was saying, "Remember that gold lipstick thing? Remember how I gave it to X-Ray, and the Warden went crazy making us dig where she thought X-Ray found it? I think if I tell her where I really found it, she'll let us off."

Zero hadn't listened. He was trying not to. He wasn't going back. He wasn't digging any more holes.

He remembered the funny words written on the boat.

"What's Mar--ya Luh--oh--oo?" he asked, sucking the sploosh off of his thumb.

Stanley frowned. He was obviously annoyed that Zero hadn't paid attention to what he had said.

"What?"

"Mar--ya Luh--oh--oo," Zero tried again, concentrating hard.

Stanley leant back and sighed, "I have no idea."

Zero said nothing, "C'mon, I'll show you," he finally said. He crawled out from under the boat. Stanley followed.

They were both sitting on the dirt, their feet under the boat but their top part of their body out in the sun.

Zero pointed at the peeling letters.

"Mar--ya Luh--oh--oo."

"Mary Lou. It's the name of the boat," Stanley said with a smile.

"Mary Lou," Zero repeated slowly, confused, "But I thought 'y' made the 'yuh' sound."

"It does," Stanley said, his eyes focusing on the distant cliffs, "But not when it's at the end of a word. Sometimes 'y' is a vowel and sometimes it's a consonant."

"Oh..." Zero thought it was still a big load of complication.

He suddenly moaned as a wrenching feeling attacked his stomach. He leant forward and clutched at his stomach, groaning. For a terrifying moment, Zero was afraid he'd throw up, but the moment passed.

He straightened up, and took a couple of deep breaths. Stanley was watching him, looking very worried.

"I'm taking you back."

Zero shook his head determinedly, "I'm not digging anymore holes," he said seriously.

"You have to."

"I'm not going back," Zero said with the air of finality. No one could force him.

Stanley stared long and hard at him, "You'll die out here."

"Then I'll die out here," Zero said stubbornly, though he was terrified at the very thought.

Stanley just stared at him. Then his eyes drifted towards the mountain again.

Zero didn't know what to do. Stanley probably wouldn't leave until he had taken Zero back, but he was determined not to go back and face Mr. Pendanski, the Warden and all those other evil people...

That would mean the death of two boys. One innocent boy, too.

Zero glanced helplessly at Stanley.

It was his entire fault.

_Those stupid shoes,_ he thought wretchedly, _If I had only kept them..._

"I want you to look at something," Stanley said suddenly.

"I'm not going--" Zero started, with a small sigh.

"I just want you to look at that mountain over there. See the one that has something sticking up out of it?"

Zero shielded his eyes and looked over to where Stanley was pointing.

"Yeah, I think."

"What does it look like to you? Does it look like anything?"

Zero never knew Stanley was capable of asking stupid questions. But he'd answer it for his sake--

Zero stared at the mountain. It _did_ look a bit like something...

Suddenly, his hand formed into a fist and he raised his thumb. He supported it on his other hand, and looked at Stanley.

Stanley looked at it, with a small smile. He also raised his thumb.

The two boys glanced over the mountain, then back to their hands. 

====== 

---- A/N: Hello everyone... I got a really bad cold on Thursday and slept at 7PM. =] 'Twas nice. Mummy woke me up in the middle of the night and gave me a pill. Muahahaha. Then on Friday morning, I felt better, so I decided to go to school. Mum didn't want me to, but I actually felt like it. Anyway, I got really sick again on Friday night (last night.) This morning, I woke up feeling TERRIBLE. In fact, I was in so much pain I screwed up my face and then started crying. I don't even know why. Well, I've just been sick and that's why I haven't updated. Lol. And also, my computer has gone odd and did not let me connect with the internet. Now it's working again. =]

Zero: ((hugs Jaffy)) Mornin' evewyone. Pweathe do not eat my cwookieth... ((falls asleep))

YAWN.

I feel like sleeping too... byebye... --MSQ.


	15. Don't Give Up

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

**Chapter Fourteen ll Don't Give Up**

====== 

Zero felt like his head was spinning. Thirty seconds ago, Stanley and him had decided to climb the mountains.

It was insane.

But he didn't care.

Zero carefully dodged the broken glass under the boat and took the four unbroken jars. Stanley put them in the burlap sack he had found on his way to the _Mary Lou_. Zero took the shovel, and Stanley carried the sack.

As they started their long walk towards the mountains, Stanley said, "I should warn you. I'm not exactly the luckiest guy in the world."

Zero almost laughed. He didn't care, "When you spend your whole life living in a hole..." he said slowly, glancing up at the sky, "The only way you can go is up." 

With smiles upon their faces, they gave each other the thumbs-up sign.

Zero felt like he had made a lifelong friend.

They hadn't walked for a very long time before Zero suddenly felt the horrible feeling squeeze his stomach again. He fell onto the ground, with Stanley hovering above him.

"Are you alright? Can you walk?"

Zero didn't say anything. It asking too much to breathe properly, let alone talk.

After a few seconds, the feeling disappeared. Stanley picked up the shovel and handed it to him, and he used to support himself to his feet.

They continued on their walk across the dried up lake.

Zero thought back to the boat.

"I wonder who she was," he wondered out loud, as he dragged the shovel along behind him.

"Who?"

"Mary Lou."

Stanley smiled, shifting the burlap sack over his other shoulder, "I guess she was once a real person on a real lake. It's hard to imagine."

"I bet she was pretty," Zero said determinedly, thinking back to his own mother, "Somebody must have loved her a lot, to name a boat after her."

"Yeah. I bet she looked great in a bathing suit, sitting in the boat while her boyfriend rowed," Stanley scoffed.

Zero smiled.

They continued to walk for a long time. Just walking across the frying pan, towards the distant cliffs. Big Thumb, Stanley liked to call it.

"My mother's great," Stanley said confidently, taking a broader stride forward that Zero had to speed up his pace to catch up with him, "She always insists that the family isn't cursed."

Zero had asked him about his parents.

"Your family's cursed?" he said incredulously, looking at Big Thumb. It was like chasing the moon.

Stanley smiled thinly, "Well, it's just some sort of thing for fun, y'know? Apparently, my great, great grandfather stole a pig from a gypsy and she cursed him all and all his descendants. And that's how you get me being sent to Camp Green Lake."

He glanced at Zero, and the two burst out laughing.

"Anyway," Stanley continued, prodding on forward, "My father's an inventor, as you know, and he's trying to invent a way to recycle sneakers. He's real smart, and he has heaps of perserverance, but our family, though none of us believe in the curse, has had a history of bad luck. So when the shoes hit me on the head--"

"Clyde Livingston's shoes?" Zero asked seriously.

"Yeah -- them. When they hit me on the head, I thought they were destiny's shoes. Somehow, I thought they could help with my father's experiment."

Zero didn't know what to say.

"Did it hurt?" he finally asked.

Stanley frowned, though he felt stronger and more lightened. Speaking about his parents made him feel better.

"Did what hurt?"

"The shoes -- you said they hit you on the head," Zero said, trying not to laugh. Even though he knew he had been the one who chucked them over the bridge, the prospect of it hitting Stanley squarely in the head was still amusing.

"Oh. Yeah, they _did_ hurt," Stanley said thoughtfully, remembering. He glanced up at Big Thumb.

It seemed nearer.

For some reason, Zero burst out laughing. He didn't stop laughing for a long time. Stanley glanced at him, and grinned. He hadn't seen him laugh continously before.

"Ahhhhhhhhh," Zero calmed himself down, wiping away at his face, "I'm sorry."

Stanley was under the impression that he was apologising about laughing. He raised and lowered his shoulder, then smiled implishly at Zero, who was still chuckling and coughing.

Zero felt like it was time to confess to Stanley that he had been the ones who had stolen the shoes. It didn't look like they were going to survive long enough...

He got another attack and dropped to his knees. The shovel fell onto the ground.

"Zero! Are you okay?" Stanley also dropped to the ground, his face covered with sweat.

"I really have to sit down," Zero panted. He felt awful, so tired and so sick. Why couldn't his mother...?

Zero groaned, and pressed his hands harder onto his aching stomach. _Don't think about her, _he told himself weakly.

"Just see if you can go a little--"

Zero, who had been struggling to sit up, collapsed down again.

Stanley picked up the shovel, looking at the small boy with concern.

With a lot of effort, Zero struggled to his feet. He managed to flash the thumbs-up to Stanley. He wasn't sure if he could cope with the horrible pain...

"Give me some words," he gasped out weakly.

Stanley looked at him, then smiled slowly.

"R -- u -- n."

Zero thought for a moment. For a second, the pain, his thirst and all his troubles disappeared. R -- u -- n was more important.

"Rr--un," he said to himself, "Run."

"Good. F -- u -- n."

"Eff," Zero repeated in a whisper, concentrating hard, "Eff--un. Fun."

Stanley gave him some more words, and Zero got every one right. The spelling helped both of them. It gave Zero something to concentrate on other than his pain and weakness. But he wasn't sure how it helped Stanley; he just looked a bit stronger after spelling words out.

"B -- u -- n," Stanley said, taking an extra long stride across the sand. His voice was very dry.

"Bee--uhn. Bee--un. Beh--un. Bun," Zero gasped out, "Can we stop now? It -- it hurts to talk."

Stanley nodded, obliging immediately.****

They didn't speak for the remainder of the walk towards Big Thumb. It didn't take them too long. Maybe twenty minutes.

During those twenty minutes, Zero felt his arms grow weaker and weaker. The pain had disappeared long ago, but the after-effects still remained. He felt so tired and exhausted. All he wanted to do was lie down and sleep.

But that would mean death, and he knew that it would bring Stanley to his death, too.

As long as Stanley could keep going, he could keep going too.

What he didn't know was that Stanley was counting on the same thing, only the opposite. _As long as Zero could keep going, he could keep going too._

So in a way, they were both helping each other to keep on going.

The shovel felt like it was going to drop from Zero's weary arms any second. But he managed to hold onto it. It just kept getting heavier and heavier. The dust whipped into his face and eyes, irritating him. The sun was beating it's hot, hot, hot rays down on him, as if it hated Zero so much it was trying to torture him with it's heat.

Once or twice, he saw a pool of water shimmering in the distance. But of course, he knew it was only a mirage caused by the shimmering waves of heat rising off the dry ground.

He kept close by Stanley, who was walking ahead. Zero knew that he would've never made it to the mountains if he had gone by himself. But if Stanley was there, the awesome task that lay ahead of them seemed much easier.

Zero stopped walking suddenly, panting. He used the shovel for a third leg, and tried to catch his breath. Stanley stopped as well, and waited for Zero to start moving again. They didn't say anything. It hurt to talk.

Zero nodded to Stanley, and they started to drag their heavy legs towards the white cliffs. They were almost there. Another half a mile to go, maybe.

He quickly glanced up at Big Thumb, so that the sun couldn't blind him with it's powerful rays.

"What do you think's up there?" he asked, straining his voice. However, not talking for twenty minutes had helped.

Stanley also glanced up at Big Thumb, "Oh, probably an Italian restaurant."

Zero mustered up all his energy to laugh. It was a relieving sound.

"I think I'll get a pepperoni pizza and a large root beer," Stanley said, smiling at Zero. Talking about such luxurious food helped them.

Zero smiled and tried to think of what he wanted.

"I want an ice cream sundae. With nuts and whipped cream, and bananas, and hot fudge."

After that, they didn't talk again.

Finally, they came to the end of the lake. Huge white stone cliffs faced them. They were towering and intimidating.

Zero looked up, and immediately felt sick. He groaned and held his stomach fearfully.

_Death would be better than this,_ he thought painfully.

"I'm all right," he whispered, so Stanley wouldn't worry.

There was silence for a minute, as Stanley experimented the cliff. He saw a rut.

"Let's try there," he said, after Zero had begun to breathe normally again.

He nodded. Though it was about a fifty-foot climb, Zero was going to give it his best shot.

Or die trying.

_Don't think about it._

_[ All our dreams are gone_   
_With a lose of faith_   
_And we're still hanging on_   
_For another day_   
_Its so hard to see_   
_That its gonna get better_   
_And when will it be_   
_Its hard to say ]_

Stanley started to climb up, and Zero followed. It was a miracle he didn't get any attacks while climbing, or the results would've been deadly.

After five minutes of climbing, they came to a rest on one of the wider ledges that they could sit on.

Zero leant back against the rock, breathing heavily.

"You feeling any better?" Stanley asked hoarsely.

He nodded.

"Just a little tired," he replied.

There was silence as both boys caught their breath.

_[ We must believe_   
_That if again we will receive _   
_Yes we must believe_   
_That its gonna get better ]_

"I wonder if they've told my parents that I ran away," Stanley said suddenly. His eyes seemed cloudy and distant.

Zero looked up at him, and grimaced, "It must be awful not knowing what happened to your own son."

He wondered if his mother had ever tried looking for him. He wondered how she must've felt if she had tried looking for him at Laney Park, only to discover that her son wasn't there anymore.

Zero dismissed the thought. His mother hated him, that was why she never came back.

So of course, she'd never try to venture back to Laney Park, anyway.

Zero's heart ached as he thought that. 

Stanley nodded, still off in his own thoughts, "Day after day... no response from your son... And then the camp calls you... 'Your son has been missing for several days out in the desert. We can't find his body.' "

He shuddered violently.

Zero nodded grimly, "It's a tough world out there. There are some things that you never know. And you just wonder... why."

Stanley also nodded.

"C'mon, let's tackle the rest of this cliff."

When they were about two-thirds up, they rested again. Zero had had a bit of trouble getting up. His frail body shook violently at times, and it really did seem like he would sway and fall... But somehow, he managed to stay with Stanley.

"You okay?" he asked Zero, as he helped him onto the ledge.

Zero nodded again, and gave the thumbs up sign.

_[ Don't give up_   
_Never give up_   
_We won't stop givin' all we got_   
_Don't give up_   
_Never give up_   
_We won't stop givin' all we got ]_

Stanley also flashed the thumbs up sign. He blew out some air from the corner of his mouth and looked up at the ledges above them.

Zero did the same.

"Give me a boost," he said quietly, "Then I'll pull you up with the shovel."

"You won't be able to pull me up," Stanley said with raised eyebrows.

"Yes, I will," Zero said determinedly. He knew he was small, but he wasn't weak.

Stanley looked uncertain. Then he put down the sack, and cupped his hands. Zero, leaning on Stanley, stepped into his interwoven fingers and grabbed onto a slab of rock above his head.

He pulled himself onto the ledge, and peered down onto Stanley. He was about four feet below him.

Stanley held up the shovel and the sack to Zero, who grabbed them and lifted them to the ledge he was sitting on. He supported the blade with the rocks, and let the wooden shaft dangle towards Stanley.

"Okay," he called to him.

Stanley looked uncertain. He grasped onto the wooden shaft, and carefully climbed up the steep wall. Zero held the blade in place, so that Stanley could hold on without the shovel flipping over and falling down the cliff.

Zero felt the sharp edges of the shovel deepen into his hands. The pain only stung for a moment, before Zero saw the blood begin to seep out. 

When he could reach him, Zero grasped onto Stanley's wrist and pulled him up onto the ledge. Stanley grabbed onto the slab of rock and heaved himself the rest of the way onto the ledge.

Zero quickly put the shovel in a safe position before it could slip and fall down.

He glanced at the deep gashes in both of his hands, and winced.

Stanley was breathless. Without a word, he ripped two strips of fabric from the burlap sack and used them to bandage Zero's wounds.

"One of the jars are broken," he said hoarsely, glancing into the sack.

"Keep the glass shards," Zero said, his voice equally hoarse, "We might need to use their sharp edges for something."

Stanley nodded. They sat there for a little while, and rested. Then they climbed the rest of the cliff, which was fairly easy.

When they reached flat ground, they continued to walk. Zero felt like he was walking on his exhaustion.

Yet with every step, he realised he could just take another step further...

It was like he was getting stronger.

But he felt weaker.

Did that make any sense?

"We're almost there," Stanley said, breaking into his thoughts.

Zero nodded slightly, and glanced up. He saw the base of the mountain, and took a deep breath.

He really hoped there would be water there. He had no idea how long he and Stanley had been walking, but it seemed like years since they had drunk the sploosh.

Big Thumb was the only hope. If there was no water, then...

They'd die.

Zero took another deep breath.

The thought of death had never failed to scare him. In fact, it scared him so much it made his very bones rattle with fear.

====== 

---- A/N: Hey! I hope this chapter demonstrated the brotherly-ness between Stanley and Zero during their climb up to Big Thumb that Holes never showed! Well, I imagined that they had a few conversations that tightened their friendship, lol. I sort of tied the book and movie together, with some of my old junk. LOL. I'm so negative towards myself. You are the best, Aggz. LOL. Okay, enough with me! You all just wanna see 'lil Zero, and ((drum roll)) here he is!

Zero: ((bowing)) HEWO! I hwope woo enjoyed thwat chwapter! It wath weewy hard, cwimbing thwat mwountain...

What are you talking about? You're only three! There's like ten years until you climb Big Thumb!

Zero: ...

Okay, okay. Never mind. Awww. ((hugs Zero tightly)) Hey, I haven't been to school in four days, including the weekend. That is so TIGHT. Lol. All of today I kept calling everyone "dude". It was really scary. And in my letters of craptastic randomness, I wrote things like "WASSUP DAWG!" or "YO YO MAH HOMIE!" and it's really freaking my friends out.

One of them even said I'm an Asian gone wrong.

Hey look, I have it right here. It was a letter my friend and me wrote to our other friends from the other class. I'll just write it up.

**(Bonnie in blue texta -- hey, we got textas in Science, pretty cool!) Hi everyone.**   
_(Me in ORANGE texta) YO YO WASSUP MAH HOMIES?!_   
**Aggie is an Asian gone wrong. Lol. JK.**   
_Oh you're nice. So how is everyone?_   
**Great, how are you? Lol.**   
_I wasn't talking to you! SO GAH! HA!_   
**Too bad, I answered anyway.**   
_Whatever. Bonnie loves..._   
**(crosses out Bonnie and writes Aggie over it) Aggie loves S--**   
_(over on S) NO ONE! Bonnie is..._   
**Normal. Aggie is...**   
_Pretty!_   
**Crap.**   
_Hey! You're mean. Whoa, we're running out of space. CYA!_   
**Bye.**

Lol, completely odd and pointless. And that's not us at our worst. Lol. Cya!

Zero: ((WAVES HAPPILY))

-MSQ.

PS. The song is "Don't Give Up" by Eagle-Eye Cherry. It's played in Holes when Zero and Stanley begin to climb the mountain.


	16. A Hot Fudge Sundae

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

**Chapter Fifteen ll A Hot Fudge Sundae**

---------- 

The land grew steeper and steeper, until it was obvious they were walking up the mountain. The shovel grew too heavy in Zero's arms, and he switched it with Stanley for the sack.

When it grew too steep to walk directly up, they had to zigzag back and forth. It took more time, but it was the only way.

"I wonder when the restaurant closes," Zero said, panting a little. The mountain side was dotted with weeds, and they used them as footholds as they walked up towards Big Thumb.

Stanley looked at him warily, then laughed.

"It ain't closing time yet."

The weeds grew thicker, and soon some thorns appeared.

"Ouch," Zero said, ripping his foot out a cluster of thorns. He bent down and checked his ankle. No cuts, no blood.

The stinging stopped, and he resumed walking. Once or twice, he'd slip and fall onto the weeds. Stanley would help him back up. Zero felt so tired. He wasn't sure if he could go on anymore. However, he hadn't had any attacks since before they climbed the cliff. Maybe the worst was over.

On a particularly slopey part of the mountain, Zero slipped and fell onto the ground. He groaned.

Stanley was laughing as he carefully skidded back down to where Zero was, "You okay there?"

"No," he muttered, taking Stanley's hand and hauling himself up, "It's not a laughing matter."

"Anyone would laugh watching you fall like that," Stanley said, still chuckling, "It's like a little toddler trying to walk up a snowy mountain... then falling flat on his butt."

"Hey, I'm not that little!" Zero protested, as they continued to zigzag up.

Stanley coughed.

They didn't stop once to rest.

As the sky darkened, bugs began to appear over the patches of weeds. A swarm of gnats followed Zero and Stanley, attracted by their sweat. Neither of them had the strength to swat them away. All their strength had gone to their legs.

"How are you doing?" Stanley asked, after a long while of not saying anything. He felt like it was his duty to look after Zero.

Zero pointed thumbs up. Then he lowered his hand and said, "If a gnat lands on me, it'll knock me over."

Stanley barely had the energy to smile.

Ten minutes later, they were back to spelling.

"B -- u -- g -- s."

Zero thought for a moment. Whenever he had to spell words, everything just seemed to cease. What was the most important thing was to figure out what the letters spelt. When he got the word, everything returned back to him. His problems, his thirst, his pain...

"Boogs."

Stanley laughed.

A wide smile spread across Zero's sick and weary face as he realised his mistake, "Bugs." Then he coughed several times.

"That's right. R -- o -- c -- k."

"Rrrr--oh--ck. Rock," Zero coughed again.

"Good! Okay, now this is a hard one. L -- u -- n -- c -- h."

"Luh -- Luh -- un -- " Zero felt a horrible feeling rise up into his throat. He gasped for air, made a wrenching noise and doubled over. Stanley stopped immediately and stared as Zero threw up the sploosh. His frail body shook violently.

Then suddenly, Zero collapsed. He slid down the side of the mountain.

"Whoa! Zero -- Zero!" Stanley yelled, dropping the shovel and sliding down after him.

Zero stopped sliding, his hair getting tangled in some weeds.

"Whoa, buddy. You okay?" Stanley lifted Zero by the shoulders and set him against a rock.

Zero was still conscious, but he felt so exhausted. His eyes closed and his mind began to drift off...

"Zero? Zero!"

Stanley was hitting him gently on his chest.

Zero frowned and groaned, his eyes still closed. He couldn't get up. It was impossible. 

"Well, we can't sit around here forever," he heard Stanley distantly say. Then he felt someone lift him up by his forearms, and pull him upright. He felt Stanley pull him over his body, so that his arms dangled over his shoulder.

A piggy-back ride.

After that, Zero couldn't remember much. He guessed he had fallen asleep. Occasionally, he remembered hearing Stanley humming a familiar, melodic tune. He could feel the steps taken as they moved up the mountain. But whenever he heard those noises, they disappeared again. Everything went black.

He also remembered smelling a foul odor.

That was it. Everything was a total blank. It was if someone had wiped out his memory.

He couldn't remember anything that happened in the outside world. Just complete darkness.

He remembered he could keep seeing his mother's face in the darkness. He heard her humming "If only, if only" softly. Then at one point, Zero knew, he had heard the exact same tune, but only different words.

_"If only, if only,_   
_The woodpecker sighs._   
_The bark on the tree was just a bit softer._   
_While the wolf waits below,_   
_Hungry and lonely._   
_He cries to the moo--oo--oon._   
_If only, if only."_

And it wasn't his mother singing either; it was a male voice...

Zero felt dizzily light-headed yet conscious of the fact that he was on Stanley's back. He kept dreaming about everything; Mr. Sir and Mr. Pendanski's face kept wafting in and out. The Warden... Zigzag... Armpit... Magnet... X-Ray.

The rattlesnake would sound it's rattle... then suddenly it turned into a yellow-spotted lizard and bit Barf Bag's ankle.

The lizard turned its red eyes to Zero, who tried to run but was paralysed with fear.

It was about to bite...

_"I know you mean well, Stanley, but face it. Zero's too stupid to learn to read. That's what makes his blood boil, not the hot sun."_

The lizard formed into Mr. Pendanski. Zero felt hot anger surge through him, and he felt something in his hands.

It was the shovel.

He was about to strike Mr. Pendanski again when he suddenly turned into his mother.

_"Come here, Hector," she said with a warm smile, stretching out her arms for a hug._

Zero dropped the shovel and ran towards her -- but then her raven black hair disappeared and red hair took over. He stopped abruptly.

_"Digging holes builds character," the Warden said._

Zero was having trouble understanding what was happening. Everytime a new person came, it immediately would form into another person.

_"Whoa, man! You made Zero talk," Zigzag exclaimed._

_"Yeah Zero, what else can you do?" Armpit said._

_"Yeah, it was Zero," Armpit said, "I guess the guy likes to dig holes."_

_"He's a mole," Zero heard Zigzag say, "I think he eats the dirt."_

_"Moles don't eat dirt. Worms eat dirt," X-Ray pointed out._

_"Hey Zero, are you some kinda mole or somethin'?" Squid yelled._

"Zero!"

Zero immediately shot up when he felt cold, wet water splash onto his face, soaking him. Gasping, he looked around.

He was lying on a boulder, in a meadow. He was in a field full of greenish-white flowers. He looked up at the towering rock. It was layered and streaked with different shades of red, burnt orange, brown and tan.

It was Big Thumb.

Which meant...

They had made it!

Or at least Stanley had, and he had taken Zero along with him. 

Speaking of Stanley, he was lying on the ground in front of Zero.

Though he still felt sick, weak and exhausted, Zero sat up properly on his boulder and looked at Stanley. He was lying in a pool of very murky water. 

Water!

"We did it Zero! It's water!" he was yelling.

Zero stared, unable to believe his eyes. He became aware of a foul odor he had smelt before when he had fallen asleep. It smelt a little tangy, but all the same awful and bitter.

"Water," Zero croaked.

Stanley nodded. He dug at the little muddy ditch, and produced a handful of murky water. He quickly sidled towards Zero, and dropped it into his mouth.

Zero drank it up thirstily.

The two boys continued to lap up dirty water until they were satisfied. Zero felt his stomach clench up violently, and he groaned softly. He laid back down on his boulder, closing his eyes.

Stanley had saved his life. 

Now he really owed him _a lot_. At least a confession.

Yes, he would tell him, Zero decided. He'd tell him he had been the one who had taken the shoes... But maybe... the next day. He was too sick and exhausted at the moment.

Closing his eyes, he relaxed his body. The sun was gone and the sky was quite dark. The cool air made him feel good.

He wondered how Stanley had managed to carry him all the way up the mountain. He realised they had to have been quite close to Big Thumb when he threw up. He didn't think Stanley could carry him a long distance up, as they had been walking all day with no food or water.

Just as Zero's brain was about to fall asleep, Stanley's voice woke him up.

"Here, eat this."

"What is it?" Zero whispered, opening his eyes and looking at the round object in Stanley's hand.

"A hot fudge sundae."

---------- 

----A/N: Hiya everyone! I'm feeling better now. Mmm, hot fudge sundae. How tasty! You know which part of that chapter I loved most? When Zero slipped and fell on his butt. Lol, I reckon that's so cute. I wish it had happened in the book, then it might've happened in the movie... How cute would that be! Lol.

Zero: I AM NOT A WOCK. Hewwo! Thwank woo fwor reviewin', it maketh mwe hwappy. And Jaffy'th hwappy twoo! ((MAKES JAFFY NOD)) I wike to eat chocowate fwogth...

((sings along)) I LIKE TO EAT CHOCOLATE FROOOOOOOOOGS!

Zero: ...an' cwookieth...

...me too...

Zero: ((skips off to play Neopets))

...Doesn't look like we'll be seeing him back very soon. Oh, well. Thanks everyone!

--MSQ.


	17. Big Thumb

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

**Chapter Sixteen ll Big Thumb**

----------****

Zero awoke to a splashing sound. He groaned. He felt, if it was possible, even worse than before.

He tried to sit up on his boulder.

"How you doing?" came Stanley's hoarse voice. Zero noticed him lapping up water from the water hole.

"Not good," he said quietly. With great effort, he managed to get off the boulder. He crawled towards the water hole, and stuck his head in. With his tongue, he licked up some water.

Feeling a shuddering sensation, Zero pulled his knees up to his chest, trembled violently and rolled to his side. There, he'd have to stay there now. There was no way he could crawl back to his boulder.

He knew he was going to die.

He just _knew_.

Then he'd never be able to tell Stanley.

With a deep breath, Zero opened his eyes and looked at the boy sitting a few feet away from him.

"I got to tell you something," he managed to say without bringing too much pain to himself.

"Don't talk," Stanley advised, "Save your strength."

"No, listen," Zero tried again, sounding a little more determined. He _had_ to tell Stanley. He closed his eyes and scrunched up his face.

"I'm listening."

"I took your shoes."

There was silence for a few moments. Zero knew he hardly made sense. But he had no energy to elaborate.

"That's all right. Just rest now," came Stanley's voice above him.

"It's all my fault," Zero said sadly, his eyes still closed. He was slowly fading back to sleep.

"It's nobody's fault."

"I didn't know," Zero whispered, his eyes fluttering open.

"That's okay," Stanley insisted, "Just rest."

Zero could tell he was about to nod off to sleep. But he had to make Stanley understand.

"I didn't know about the shoes," he whispered again.

"What shoes?"

"From the shelter."

"Clyde Livingston's shoes?"

Zero knew he had finally made Stanley understand. He wondered if he was angry.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. His eyes fluttered close and he felt his face relax. He had confessed. He felt a heavy load being lifted off his shoulders.

He wasn't sure if he was dreaming, but again he heard Stanley's voice slowly hum;

_"If only, if only,_   
_The woodpecker sighs._   
_The bark on the tree was just a bit softer._   
_While the wolf waits below,_   
_Hungry and lonely._   
_He cries to the moo--oo--oon._   
_If only, if only."_

---

It had been two days since Stanley had climbed up the mountain with Zero on his back.

Zero was still sick, but his condition continued to improve. The onions and rest seemed to do him some good. Meanwhile, Stanley tried to make the water hole deeper, but what he really needed was the shovel.

Zero drifted awake to find Stanley sitting beside him, staring at him.

"I think I'll go look for the shovel," he said as the sleep cleared from Zero's mind.

He remembered that Stanley had left both the sack and shovel when he had thrown up.

"I'll wait here," Zero said feebly.

Stanley nodded, and Zero watched his retreating back, following the trail down the mountain. 

He took a deep breath, and rolled on his side so that he was facing the water hole. He put his hand into it and scooped up a handful of water. He sipped it, then rolled back on his other side.

Stanley had picked several onions and had left them in a pile near Zero's head.

Zero grabbed one and bit into it. It tasted good, and what was more, it made him feel good.

Good enough to gather up his strength to sit up. Taking a deep breath, Zero sat up. He bit into the onion again, feeling the warmth in his mouth.

He looked around, appreciating nature's beauty. He had never appreciated that before.

Zero lowered the onion and looked at it. He peeled off a layer and stuck it in his mouth, crunching on it.

He realised he couldn't really smell the foul odor anymore. Stanley and him had realised it had been the smell of thousands of onions growing, rotting and sprouting.

A small smile lit his lips as he took another bite. He had no idea how many onions he had eaten since they had reached Big Thumb, but he knew he had eaten quite a lot.

It took Stanley most of the day to go down the mountain, then back up after retrieving the shovel and sack. But Zero didn't mind. He had enjoyed his little moment to himself, eating onions and gazing at the little cluster of white flowers.

Over here, the sky was a clear blue and had a few clouds. They reminded Zero of fluffy bunny rabbits. And cotton candy.

He didn't have the energy to stand up yet. He just sat there, biting into his onions absently. The onions had no taste to him anymore. A sort of tangy taste, perhaps, but that was it. Nothing that would cause bitter tears to form in his eyes.

After eating three onions in a row, Zero stopped and just sat there. He let his whole life wash him over.

_"Stay here on this porch step. Now don't leave here until I get back."_

Zero remembered how his mother would tell him that whenever she had to leave without him.

He sighed. He would give anything to have her back.

Maybe... she still loved him.

Zero glanced up at the sky. Big Thumb blocked most of the sun, so only a few rays of sunlight shone down.

It was nice and warm, yet not sweltering hot like it was out on the dry lake.

He wondered what the other boys were doing. Digging holes, of course. But he still wondered if they had acknowledged his and Stanley's disappearance.

He wondered how they were coping. Were they talking about them every night?

_Everyone must think we're buzzard food,_ Zero thought grimly, his hands moving over to get another onion, _Like I care._

Then he suddenly grinned. The smile made him feel relieved. At least he hadn't turned into an emotionless hole again.

When Stanley came back, Zero could see he was surprised that he had managed to sit up.

Stanley was panting, dragging the shovel and having trouble holding the sack.

"I _cannot_ believe I managed to carry you up that mountain," he panted, collapsing in a heap beside Zero and dropping the shovel and sack.

He glanced at the non-existant onion pile.

"Hey, what happened to all the onions?!"

Smiling sheepishly, Zero rolled on his back and innocently lapped some water into his mouth.

----------

A/N: Short and probably pointless, but I found it cute. :) I wanted to show what Zero had been up to while Stanley had to climb back down to get the shovel. Well, he didn't do much, did he? Apart from eating all the onions, lol. I'm sorry I haven't updated in awhile; I have three tests to study for and an assignment to hand in, plus normal homework. AHH!

Has anyone seen Rabbit-Proof Fence? That is such a sad movie. And Cheaper By The Dozen? Lol, I love that movie. Especially little Jacob Smith, who's older than me... but he's so cute. Hehe. Okay, I better go now. I'm sorry you dear people didn't get a chance to talk to Zero. He's off eating ice cream at the moment. And yay, over 100 reviews! Lol. Bye bye! --MSQ.


	18. Whacky Decisions

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

**Chapter Seventeen ll Whacky Decisions**

----------****

Zero's condition continued to improve. Slowly, but surely.

Stanley had been busy, digging away at the water hole with the shovel. It was now almost as big as the ones they had to dig back at Camp Green Lake. Zero had offered to help, but Stanley simply told him he should rest up.

"Save your strength," he had said.

Sometimes, it made Zero laugh to think about what he and Stanley had done over the past couple of days. They both resolved that their feet stank, so they took off their socks and washed them with the murky water.

Stanley had been about to dip his two very dirty socks into the water when Zero gave a feeble shout.

"Stop! You're going to contaminate the water! If we drink it, we'd surely die."

Stanley laughed, "What are we going to do then?"

Zero shrugged, and thought, "Scoop out some water and dump it on the socks?"

But Stanley shook his head, "It'll waste a lot of water and it'll take too long."

They both sat in silence, deep in thought.

"Oh, I know," Stanley suddenly said. He moaned a little as he twisted his body and reached for the sack that was lying about a foot away from him. He grabbed it and dragged it over.

Zero watched as Stanley took out a jar, then another one. He gently rolled a jar towards Zero.

"We can fill these with water and dump them over the socks."

"Good idea," Zero agreed. So then they had cleaned their socks.

A few seconds later, Stanley said, "Do you think we should wash our feet as well?"

That caused both of them to laugh.

"There isn't enough water in the world to clean our feet," Zero chuckled.

Later that evening, when the boys were having their evening meal of onions, Zero felt like talking about his past. Stanley listened.

"I didn't go to the homeless shelter very often. Only when the weather was really bad," he said, looking at the darkening sky and taking a crunchy bite of his (possibly) hundredth onion.

"I'd have to find someone to pretend to be my mum. If I'd gone by myself, they would've asked me a bunch of questions. If they'd find out I didn't have a mum, they would have made me a ward of the state."

Stanley peeled a layer of an onion off, "What's a ward of the state?" he wanted to know, turning his head briefly towards Zero.

Zero really had no idea. He shrugged and smiled, "I don't know. But I didn't like the sound of it."

Neither boy said anything as they took another bite of their onions.

"I liked sleeping outside," Zero continued on confidently, "I used to pretend I was a Cub Scout. I always wanted to be one. I'd see them at the park in their blue uniforms."

"I was never a Cub Scout," Stanley said, reaching for another onion, "I wasn't good at social stuff like that. Kids made fun of me because I was fat."

Zero re-thought about the whole situation, and shrugged, "I liked the blue uniforms. Maybe I wouldn't have liked being a Cub Scout."

Stanley shrugged as well.

"My mother was once a Girl Scout," Zero said suddenly, before he could stop himself. He glanced at Stanley, before resuming back to his onion.

"I thought you said you didn't have a mother."

"Everybody has to have a mother," Zero said logically.

"Well, yeah, I know that," Stanley said uncomfortably.

"She said she once won a prize for selling the most Girl Scout cookies. She was real proud of that."

Zero smiled a little as he thought back to his wonderful mother, "We always took what we needed. When I was little, I didn't even know it was _stealing_. I don't remember when I found out. But we just took what we needed, never more. So when I saw the shoes on display in the shelter, I just reached in the glass case and took them."

"Clyde Livingston's shoes?"

"I didn't know they were his. I just thought they were somebody's old shoes. It was better to take someone's old shoes, I thought, than steal a pair of new ones. I didn't know they were famous. There was a sign, but of course, I couldn't read it. Then, the next thing I know, everybody's making this big deal about how the shoes are missing. It was kind of funny, in a way. The whole place is going crazy. There I was, wearing the shoes, and everyone's running around saying, 'What happened to the shoes?' 'The shoes are gone!' I just ran around the corner and ran down the overpass. When I heard the sirens, I panicked and took them off. I tied the laces together and chucked them. I remember they smelled really bad."

Zero drew a deep sigh of relief. He was glad he had gotten that off his chest.

"Yeah, those were them. Did they fit you?"

Zero strained his memory, "Pretty much."

Stanley didn't respond. He seemed to be thinking about something, so Zero decided to tell the rest of his story.

"I should have just kept them. I'd already made it out of the shelter and everything. I ended up getting arrested the next day when I tried to walk out of a shoe store with a new pair of sneakers. If I had just kept those old smelly sneakers, then neither of us would be here right now."

Both boys took a bite of their onions at the same time, and seemed to be deep in thought.

---

"Let me dig some of the water hole."

Zero looked at Stanley persistently, who seemed uncertain. Zero had recovered. The onions and sleep had cured him of whatever illness he had had. Now he felt perfectly fine. He felt strong.

"Oh, alright then. But stop as soon as you get tired," Stanley said reluctantly, handing him the shovel.

Zero rolled his eyes, "Okay, okay."

He dug at the water hole. It was a lot more difficult than digging at the dirt at the dried up lake, but he still managed.

When Stanley called for him to stop because the water hole was big enough (six feet deep), they both hunted for rocks.

Zero returned with his arm full of rocks. He felt happy. He felt like he was out camping. Like the Cub Scouts.

He met up with Stanley, and the two filled the bottom of the water hole with the rocks, to separate the dirt from the water.

When they were finished, Zero picked up the shovel and threw it back down, further away from the hole.

"That's the last hole I will ever dig," he declared. Stanley smiled, though there was something bitter about his smile.

The two boys sat down and ate their late-morning onions. Zero looked up at Big Thumb.

"It must have a hole at it," he said to Stanley absently, "Filled with water."

"You think?"

"Where else could the water be coming from?" Zero asked, still staring at Big Thumb. He put down his onion, "Water doesn't run uphill."

Stanley didn't say anything, so Zero didn't say anything either. They sat and ate in silence.

Zero wondered if people could live on onions forever.

"How many onions do you think we've eaten?" Stanley suddenly asked, as he put down his half-eaten onion.

Zero shrugged, "I don't even know how long we've been here."

"I'd say about a week. And we probably eat about twenty onions a day, so that's..."

Like magic, numbers whizzed and fitted together in Zero's head.

"Two hundred and eighty onions," he said promptly, glancing over to Stanley.

"I bet we really stink," he said with a grin.

---

Zero resolved that he really liked sitting with Stanley, just sitting and talking and eating onions. It was like they really were at a camp, sitting around a bonfire and toasting marshmallows. Zero enjoyed it so much that he sometimes forgot that they were actually stranded at the top of a mountain.

But he didn't care.

They had spent their days running around, picking onions and rolling around in the flowers. They got covered in fluffy white petals and usually resolved in having 'grass fights'.

Stanley had taught Zero how to play tag, and when they didn't have to pick onions to eat or gather water to drink, they would race across the greenish-white field.

Two days later, they were looking up at the dark starry sky, joining up stars to form pictures.

And of course, eating onions.

After they had seen (with the help of their vivid imaginations) a rabbit, lollipop, racing car and shovel in the sky, both boys went into silence. It wasn't an awkward silence. They were just thinking.

Zero hadn't a whiff what might've been running through Stanley's mind, but he knew that he himself was thinking about his mother. He had been thinking about her quite a lot, recently.

He remembered a yellow room... a yellow room in which he slept in. And that his mother would always sing to him. She was such a sweet person.

Zero gave a small sigh that Stanley didn't hear.

"You know what," Stanley suddenly said, still star-gazing, "I feel lucky."

It was such a random statement that Zero almost burst out laughing.

"Yeah?" he scoffed, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah," Stanley grinned and bit into his onion, "I feel really lucky."

Zero grinned as well as he lifted his onion to his mouth, "The onions are gettin' to your head."

Stanley continued to smile, but stayed silent.

"How do you feel about diggin' one more hole?" he finally asked the surprised Zero.

He crunched at his onion, staring into space. Then he frowned and looked at Stanley.

"Huh?"

"Well," Stanley looked around, "We can't stay here forever, and neither of us wants to go back to camp, right?"

"Right," Zero said uncertainly. He hadn't thought about that just yet.

"And we both know that the Warden's making us dig for something, right? We're not just digging to 'build character'."

"Right."

"I know where the lipstick tube was found. The Warden went psycho, making us dig where she _thought_ X-Ray had found it. But we didn't find anything 'cos we were digging in the wrong place. If we go back now, and dig at the place where I _really_ found it, we might be able to find what the Warden's looking for."

"Which is...?"

"Kate Barlow's treasure."

Zero stared at him.

Did onions cause people to go insane?

"_Kissin'_ Kate Barlow," he repeated, looking at Stanley cautiously.

Stanley just shrugged, "Sounds crazy, I know, but it's worth a shot, don't you think?"

"Alright," Zero took a deep breath, "_Suppose_ we manage to survive to climb down the mountain and back to camp. _Suppose_ you remember _exactly_ where the lipstick tube was found. _Suppose_ we'll be able to dig it without getting caught. _Suppose_ we find whatever it is the Warden's looking for. What are we supposed to do _then_?"

"Hitchhike back to civilization," Stanley said simply.

Zero stared into space.

He took another bite of the lovely onion.

Then he looked back at Stanley and grinned.

"What the heck. We've done enough crazy things, one more can't hurt."

Stanley grinned as well.****

----------

---- A/N: HI EVERYONE! Hehe, I felt like adding an extra part of the conversation Stanley and Zero had after Stanley asked him if he wanted to dig one more hole. Bwahahaha. If I dedicated this chapter to two people, I would dedicate it to Mellabee and Ronniekinsgrl. DEFINITELY. :) Yay! You guys completely ROCK. And I hope I updated quick enough! Okay, I shall be off now. Oh! And Zero shall speak.

Zero: Yo! 'Sup, mah homieth?

Haha, little boy speaking big boy. Weird.

Zero: Thwank woo fwor reviewin'.

_(Zero hugs Mellabee, Ronniekinsgrl, Spice of Life, Nosilla and Holes' Chica.)_

_(Zero and MSQ then hand out cookies to LadyGlory, Kirjava Deamon, Wrennie, sophianwin, Lucky38 and ilovecyberchase.)_

WE LOVE YOU!

(Zero smiles very much the same way he did in Holes when... ahh, he always smiles cute.)

--MSQ.


	19. Etuc Si Orez

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

**Chapter Eighteen ll Etuc Si Orez**

----------

They had to spend the next day picking onions for their journey back to Camp Green Lake. As Zero and Stanley moved around from field to field, Zero told him more about his past. He was explaining it to himself just as much as he was explaining it to Stanley.

"We weren't always homeless. I remember a yellow room..."

"How old were you when you... moved out?" Stanley asked, bending down and pulling up an entire onion plant. Zero was holding onto the sack, where they were putting the onions in.

Zero strained his memory.

"I don't know. I must've been real little, because I don't remember too much. I don't remember moving out. I remember standing in a crib, with my mother singing to me. She held my wrists and made my hands clap together. She used to sing that song to me. The one you sang... It was different though..."

He paused and tried to remember more.

"And then later, I know we lived on the streets, but I don't know why we left the house. I'm pretty sure it was a house, and not an apartment. I know my room was yellow."

The sun was slowly setting, and the sack was full of onions. The boys lugged it over towards the shadow cast by Big Thumb, and sat down to rest. They were leaving for Camp Green Lake next morning. They would've gone that day, but they had spent the entire morning picking onions.

Zero laid his head against the rock and drifted off to sleep. Beside him, Stanley tried to recapture the feelings of happiness he had had the night before. But those feelings didn't return. He just felt scared.

---

SPLASH.

Zero and Stanley had dunked their caps into the water hole. They were dirty, but Zero had been the one to suggest the idea because it might help them stay cooler when walking in the sun.

"Ahh --- ahhh --- ahh!" Zero doubled over and almost collapsed into the water hole when he tried to retrieve his floating cap. Stanley had caught the back of his orange jumpsuit before he had fallen in.

"Thanks," Zero breathed out, straightening up.

"Here -- I'll get your hat. You won't be able to reach it," Stanley said with a mischievous smile. Zero stuck his tongue out at him as the taller boy reached over and took out the dripping hat.

It was the next morning, and they were both preparing for their long journey.

For some reason, Zero felt excited.

"Let's leave the broken glass here," Stanley said, taking the three jars of water and placing them carefully in the sack with the onions, "I don't think we'll need to use them."

Zero nodded and picked up the shovel. Stanley's canteen was strapped around him, full of water.

The boys glanced at each other. They felt a sudden pit of sadness in their stomach.

"Ready?" Stanley said hesitantly.

Zero bit his lip. Then he nodded.

Stanley turned back around and looked at Big Thumb.

"Well Big Thumb, you saved our lives. We salute you."

With a laugh, Zero joined in with the salute. Then he whispered his own little farewell.

Holding onto the sack and shovel, the two headed down the mountain.

---

Zero was snapped out of his little daydream when Stanley pointed at a patch of weeds and said, "This is where I found the shovel."

Zero looked at it, then glanced back up at Big Thumb.

"That's a long way," he commented, wondering how on earth Stanley had even managed to climb up. Let alone with _him_ on his back.

"You were light," Stanley said, though he sounded awed himself, "You'd already thrown up everything that was inside your stomach."

Zero couldn't see how that would make him any lighter.

They took another step down -- the next thing he knew, Stanley was sliding down the steep side of the mountain. Zero gazed in horror as the sack slipped out of Stanley's grasp and went rolling after him. Several onions spilled out and bounced the hill.

Stanley grabbed at a thorny vine and slowed himself down. Zero winced, then carefully climbed down to him. He picked up the discarded sack on his way.

"Are you all right?"

Stanley groaned and sat himself up, "Yeah." He picked the thorns out of his pants and beckoned Zero to give him the sack. They both peered in and, to their relief, saw that none of the jars had broken. The onions had protected them.

"Glad you didn't do that when you were carrying me," Zero said, helping Stanley to his feet.

Stanley smiled impishly, "I think we've lost a lot of the onions."

Zero shrugged, "It's no biggie. I saw them roll down that way--" he pointed forward, "--and that's the direction we're heading to, right? We'll probably see them as we go down."

He was right; they recovered many of the onions as they clambered down the mountain.

"O -- n -- i -- o -- n," Stanley spelt out, helping Zero carefully down a slippery part, "This one's hard."

"Ohhhh--nn," Zero said slowly, "Eee--oohhh--nnn."

They trekked down some white stone.

"Ohneeohn," he repeated, thinking hard, "Ohnion. What's that?"

Stanley smiled, "Onion."

"Oooh.... why is 'o' pronounced 'uh'?"

"You know what? I really have no idea."

They didn't say anymore until they had reached the bottom of the mountain.

"I hate the sun," Zero muttered. It was rising above the lake.

"Who doesn't at Camp Green Lake," Stanley sighed and shifted the sack to the other shoulder, "You thirsty?"

Zero felt like his mouth was coated with sand. But he wasn't going to be the first to admit it, "No. How about you?"

"No."

Zero had the distinct feeling he was lying. He smiled a little as they climbed down into the frying pan. It was easier climbing down than up, but still a challenge. They helped each other ease down the ledges, and let themselves slide down at other places.

The sun rose, as did the familiar haze of heat and dirt.

"You thirsty?" Zero asked, his voice raspy.

"No."

"Because you have three full jars of water, I thought maybe it was getting too heavy for you. If you drink some, it will lighten your load," Zero hurried on to explain.

"I'm not thirsty. But if you want a drink, I'll give you some," Stanley's voice sounded just as raspy.

"I'm not thirsty. I was just worried about you," Zero said determinedly.

Stanley smiled, "I'm a camel."

Not another word about water did they say as they walked across the dry lake. They were looking for any signs of the _Mary Lou._

"P -- e -- n -- d -- a -- n -- s -- k -- i," Stanley spelt out. He didn't realise he had made a huge mistake before it was too late.

"Pen--dance--key," Zero repeated, "Pendanski."

He glanced up at Stanley wearily, wondering why he had given him that word.

"Sorry, I couldn't think of anything else. Oh! Here's a nice simple one. M -- u -- m."

"Mum," Zero said at once, without having to sound it out to himself.

Stanley smiled, "That's great."

They recited the alphabet after that, just to help time pass. Then they recited it backwards. That took awhile.

Then Stanley gave some words to Zero, except spelt backwards.

"O -- r -- e -- z."

Zero took a few minutes to think it out, "Zero," he finally said.

"Yup. Err... L -- e -- v -- o -- h -- s." It was hard for Stanley as well.

It took Zero about ten minutes to figure out that one.

When they had spelt another four words backwards, Stanley said, "Are you sure you're not thirsty?"

"Not me," Zero said, though it was killing him to say it.

Finally, they decided to take a drink.

"We'll drink at the same time," Stanley compromised. Zero agreed.

They both took a water jar each. Unscrewing the caps off, Stanley said, "You know, I'm not thirsty. I'm just drinking so you will."

Zero gave a grave smile of defiance, "I'm just drinking so you will."

They clinked the jars together and, each watching the other, poured the water into their stubborn mouths.

----------

---- A/N: Someone (confidential!) asked me why I bother with this fic (and why I even wrote it in the first place) when my other one (Inspection of CGL) is doing much more better and I should be concentrating on that more. Well, for one thing, I think Inspection of CGL is doing fine without me haunting it 24/7. :) Also, I love Zero A LOT, and I was appalled to see that there were hardly any stories about him on the boards. Mostly "girls go to CGL" stuff (some which are bloody amazing!), otherwise Squid/Zigzag angst. So I took matters into my hands and wrote out a nice, little, slightly-angsty story about 'lil Zero. :) And I hope you enjoy it! (Because I think it turned out pretty well.)

So anyway, thank you all for reviewing. I hope you enjoyed that chapter. I started yet ANOTHER Holes fic, it's called "Too Late Now" and each D-tent boy's going to have a chapter for himself. The POV is done from their mother's/father's/guardian's. So yeah, read and review! :) I've only got Squid up so far, and I think that turned out kinda cute. Okay... lol. I see you enjoyed the hugs from Zero. :) And the cookies, too. Hehehe. Ooh, shat, I better go now!

Zero: Hey! I dwidn't gwet a turn to thay anythink--!

--MSQ. (Hip hip hooray, it's the holidays! Oooh... what a craptastic rhyme.)


	20. The Great DIG

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

**Chapter Nineteen ll The Great DIG**

----------****

It wasn't even noon yet when Zero saw the remains of the _Mary Lou._ Stanley had been teaching him some nursery rhymes, and the two had been belting out the words loudly when Zero saw the familiar _something_ in the middle of _nothing_.

"Incy, wincy spider, climbed up the water spout," Stanley was singing, waving the sack around wildly, "Down came the rain and washed poor incy out--"

Zero was laughing, then stopped abruptly when he saw the boat.

"Hey, I think I see the _Marya Lou_!"

"_Mary Lou_, Zero," Stanley said with a laugh, but then he turned to look where Zero was pointing to.

"I knew that, but it'll always be _Marya _to me," Zero said stubbornly.

They hastened over to the boat, where they sat against the shady side and rested. Stanley was still humming.

"I don't know what happened to my mother. She left and never came back," Zero said resignedly with a small sigh.

Stanley was tackling with the sack. He took out two onions and handed one to Zero.

He took it, but put it down on the ground beside him. He sighed and leant back against the boat.

"She couldn't always take me with her. Sometimes she had to do things by herself."

Stanley nodded slowly as he peeled his onion.

"She'd tell me to wait in a certain place for her. When I was real little, I had to wait in small areas, like on a porch step or a doorway. 'Now don't leave here until I get back,' she'd say," Zero sighed again and gazed up at the blue sky, as if looking for answers.

"I never liked it when she left. I had a stuffed animal, a little giraffe, and I'd hug it the whole time she was gone. When I got bigger I was allowed to stay in bigger areas. Like, 'Stay on this block.' Or, 'Don't leave the park.' But even then, I still held Jaffy."

Zero blinked and a vivid image of his precious stuffed giraffe came into his mind.

Stanley watched him carefully, peeling another layer off of his onion.

"And then one day she didn't come back," Zero blinked again, trying not to let the statement hurt him emotionally, "I waited for her at Laney Park."

"Laney Park," Stanley interrupted suddenly, "I've been there."

Zero turned to him with a look of surprise, as if he had just noticed he was there, "I waited there for more than a month. You know that tunnel that you crawl through, between the slide and the swinging bridge?"

"Yeah," Stanley said with a smile, remembering his own memories of the park.

"That's where I slept."

The smile slid off his face.

Zero noticed this, and managed a half-smile, "But it's no biggie," he took a deep breath, "If I could, I would hire a team of private investigators, just to find out what happened to her."

He looked away.

In silence, they ate four onions a-piece and had half a jar of water each. Stanley stood up and looked around.

He said a few words, but Zero wasn't listening. He was re-living the horrible day his mother had left him.

"...saw the boat off to the right. So that means we have to turn a little to the left."

Zero was still lost in thought, "What? Okay."

As they headed out, with Stanley leading, Zero decided to tell Stanley more about his bitter past.

"Some kids had a birthday party. I guess it was two weeks after my mother had left. There was a picnic table next to the playscape and balloons were tied to it. The kids looked to be the same age as me. One girl said hi to me and asked if I wanted to play. I wanted to, but I didn't. I knew I didn't belong at the party, even though it wasn't their playscape. There was this one mother that kept staring at me as if I was some kind of monster. Then later, a boy asked me if I wanted a piece of cake, but then that same mother told me, 'Go away!' and she told all the other kids to stay away from me, so I never got the piece of cake. I ran away so fast, I forgot Jaffy."

"Did you ever find him -- it?" Stanley wanted to know.

Zero didn't say anything.

"He wasn't real," he finally said.

Silence reigned. Zero tried to push off the bitter memories that were coming back in a flood. As he glanced around the barren land, he noticed something wrong.

"Hold on," he said, stopping abruptly, "We're going the wrong way."

"No, this is right," Stanley insisted.

"You were heading to Big Thumb when you saw the boat to your right. That means we should have turned right when we left the boat."

Stanley wasn't convinced, "You sure?"

Zero bent down and drew a diagram in the dirt. "We need to go this way," he said, first drawing a line on the map and then heading that way himself.

Stanley followed.

He continued to teach Zero nursery rhymes as they walked closer and closer to the invisible compound.

"Mary had a little lamb, little lamb--"

Zero suddenly stopped Stanley and held out his arm so they couldn't walk any further.

"Listen," he whispered. He could hear the faint sounds of the camp. They were still too far away to see the compound, but he could hear a blend of indistinct noises.

Stanley paused and listened as well.

They stopped singing and began to walk slowly and quietly, occasionally keeping their heads down.

After a little while, they approached a cluster of holes. Zero decided it probably wasn't the best thing to go traipsing any nearer to the camp; it was too risky. There were probably still campers out digging.

"Let's wait here, until they go in," he said quietly to Stanley, who nodded.

They both climbed down into adjacent holes, waiting for the last of the diggers to finish their holes. When Zero was certain that everyone had returned back to camp, he carefully hoisted himself up. Stanley was doing the same.

Without saying a word, they crept towards camp. Zero held the shovel across his arms, so that it wouldn't drag across the sand. Stanley was cradling the sack so that the jars wouldn't clink together.

The compound came into sight.

The tents, the Wreck Room, the Warden's cabin, the showers...

Zero felt his heart sink with fear. The whole familiarity of it was overwhelming. He felt so frightened. _What if we get caught?_

"That's the one," Stanley whispered, pointing out a hole. Zero glanced over. Good, it was about fifty yards away from the compound.

He didn't want to go any nearer.

"Let's wait for them to eat dinner, then for them to go to bed," Zero said quietly. Stanley nodded, and they both climbed down into adjacent holes again.

Zero tried to fall asleep, but he didn't trust himself to. What if a camper came out to go to the bathroom? Not that staying awake would do too much good, but-- at least he'd be able to yell at them to stop before it was too late.

He quietly put the shovel aside, and laid his head against the dirt. Whoever dug the hole hadn't been terribly good at it. The sides had lumps and bumps in it, not like the smooth sides Zero's holes always had.

Distinctly, he heard the showers. He heard distant chatter coming from the Wreck Room. Later, he heard the clinking sounds of dinner.

Zero took out an onion and bit into it nervously. The sky was full of clouds. It surprised him. There had hardly been any clouds when he first arrived at Camp Green Lake. Now there were plenty.

After finishing the onion, he drifted off to an uncomfortable sleep. His mind was switching off but his heart told him to stay awake, so that the sleep did him no good. He kept waking up, then falling back asleep.

Finally, he woke up and looked up at the sky. It was quite dark.

Zero yawned and stretched. He picked up an onion and ran his hands over the smoothness of it. He liked the feel of it. He took a loud, crunchy bite that seemed to shatter the quiet atmosphere. He guessed the boys had fallen asleep in their tents.

He wondered what Stanley was doing. Zero finished his onion quickly and washed the taste down with a swig of water. He had been hoping to have a few dreams during his nap, but he had been half-conscious during his sleep that there had been no room for dreams.

And anyway, he didn't have time to take a trip down memory lane again. There were more important things to deal with.

Zero carefully climbed out of the hole and, lying flat on his stomach, peered over into Stanley's one. Through the dim moonlight, he saw that he was sleeping.

Smiling slightly, Zero lowered himself into Stanley's hole and softly called for him to wake up. He opened his eyes and seemed quite alarmed.

They left the onions and water jar in the holes, but carried the canteen and shovel. Stanley carefully led Zero to the hole where he had found the lipstick tube.

"I think this is it."

This didn't wash down too well with Zero, "You _think_?"

"It's it," Stanley said, sounding more confident this time. Zero handed him the shovel, and Stanley clambered down into the hole.

Zero watched as he began to deepen the hole.

"I'm going to try to refill the water jars," he said to Stanley, after watching him dig for awhile.

Stanley merely nodded, concentrating on digging.

"Be careful," he had warned.

Zero quickly crept back to his hole and retrieved the jars. Then he slowly tiptoed across the holes (careful not to fall in) towards the showers. He was afraid at first that there might be counselors on guard, but then he realised that he and Stanley had been missing for at least a week. More for Zero. They'd all have thought they'd be dead by now. Buzzard food.

Smiling grimly, Zero tiptoed towards the spigot and filled the jars as quietly and quickly as he could. If anyone came for a drink of water, he'd be dead meat.

When the three jars were full, Zero decided that he could try and sneak into the kitchen. He set the jars just outside the shower building and crept into the kitchen, a joint part of the Wreck Room.

There was no one around.

Zero was careful to be quiet and he kept to the shadows. He thanked his few lucky stars that he was a small kid.

He had never been in the kitchen before, and it seemed huge and foreign to him. He peered into the cupboards and found many canned items.

Then he peered at the cabinets and looked around. There were boxes of cereal and bags of bread.

Scrunching up his face, Zero was wondering how much he could carry when he heard a bang in the Wreck Room. Panicking, he grabbed at whatever box he touched first and shut the cabinet door.

He quickly dived onto the floor, into invisibility. He heard a few more noises; the noise of someone moving around in the Wreck Room. Then there was a thud, and silence.

Zero waited for at least a minute, but there was no sound. With his elbows, he crawled towards the open door of the kitchen and looked out. It was too dark to see anything and there were no movements.

Quietly, he got to his feet and escaped from the Wreck Room. On his way out, he grabbed the three water jars and quickly crept towards where Stanley was. He couldn't really see, but he could tell by the occasional tip of the shovel appearing at the top of the hole.

"You want some breakfast?" Zero said cheerfully, putting the jars down and jumping into the hole. He handed Stanley the box of cereal, which turned out to be Frosted Flakes.

Zero took the shovel and started digging as Stanley emptied the flakes into his mouth. He choked on it and began to cough.

Zero grinned as he continued to dig, "Tastes awful, doesn't it?"

"Only if you've been living on onions for a week," Stanley replied, still coughing.

As Zero dug, he began to slip back into his own mood of digging. He remembered how he had felt before, just digging holes out in the hot sun. Back then, it hadn't felt like anything.

They finished the water in the jars.

"I'll go refill them," Stanley said, getting to his feet.

Zero shook his head, "No, I'll do it. No offense, but you make too much noise when you walk. You're too big."

Stanley just grinned and punched his shoulder playfully. Then he picked up the shovel and started to dig again. Instead of digging deeper, he began to widen the hole instead.

Zero took the jars and tiptoed back to the shower stalls. While he turned the spigot on, he had the distinct feeling someone was watching him. But when he looked around, he saw no one.

He shrugged off the feeling and returned back to Stanley. He wondered what the time was.

"How's it going?" he asked.

Stanley shrugged one shoulder. Zero sat on the surface and let his legs dangle into the hole, and watched. Stanley brought the shovel down the side of the hole, shaving off a slice of the dirt wall. As he did so, he felt the shovel bounce off something hard.

Zero was immediately alert, "What was that?"

Stanley looked alert as well, "I don't know..."

Zero jumped into the hole as Stanley moved the shovel up and down the side of the hole. The dirt chipped and flaked away, and the hard object became more pronounced.

Though it was dark, both boys saw the object sticking out the side of the hole, about a foot and a half from the bottom. Stanley dropped the shovel and felt it with his hands.

"What is it?" Zero wanted to know.

"I think I might have found the treasure chest," Stanley said, sounding astonished.

"Really?" Zero said skeptically.

"I think so," Stanley said, sounding pretty awed and uncertain, "Hand me the shovel."

Zero stooped down and groped around for the shovel. He handed it to Stanley. Luckily, the hole was wide enough to hold the shovel horizontally and dig into the dirt wall.

Stanley was very careful; he was afraid that if he dug too quickly and hard, the side of the hole would cave in, along with the dirt pile on the surface.

He didn't want that to happen.

Zero bit his lip in anxiety as Stanley scraped at the wall. He didn't stop until he had exposed one side of the box-like object. Silently, he handed the shovel to Zero and began to feel the object. It seemed to be eight inches tall, and almost two feet wide. Stanley tried to pull it out, but it wouldn't budge.

Zero continued to watch and wait patiently as Stanley, with beads of sweat on his forehead, continued to scrape away the dirt. It was still dark, but both boys knew they didn't have much time left.

"I'm going to try to dig a hole underneath it," Stanley finally said, "Then maybe I can pull it down and let it slip out."

"Go for it," Zero said, trying to hide his nervousness.

Stanley jammed the shovel into the bottom edge of the hole, and carefully began to dig a tunnel underneath the metal object. Zero sucked in his breath and hoped the dirt didn't cave in.

They probably remained like that for five minutes, but to Zero it seemed like years.

Occasionally, Stanley would stoop down and reached into the small tunnel he had dug, to see if he could feel the other end of the object. But even when the tunnel was as long as his arm, he still couldn't feel the other side.

"Give it a real, strong pull," Zero had suggested.

With both boys' combined strength, they pulled at the object -- but it wouldn't budge. If they pulled too hard, Stanley was afraid they'd cause a cave in.

Stanley continued to dig. Zero, realising how thirsty he had become, reached for the water jars above and took a sip of water. He offered some to Stanley.

"Can you pry it loose with the shovel?" he suggested as he handed the jar to him.

"I'm afraid the side of the hole will collapse," Stanley said, unscrewing the lid off.

"You might as well give it a try," Zero said. He didn't add the fact that they were running out of time. He didn't want to rush Stanley.

Stanley took a sip of water, "Might as well," he said thoughtfully.

Zero took back the jar of water while Stanley picked up the shovel again. He forced the tip of it between the dirt and the top of the metal case and tried to wedge it free. He wished he could see what he was doing.

Stanley worked the end of the shovel, back and forth, up and down, until he felt the suitcase fall free.

Zero gave a small gasp as the dirt came piling down on top of it. Luckily, it hadn't been a huge cave-in. Stanley quickly dug at the dirt with his hands, before he felt the leather handle. He pulled the suitcase up.

"I got it!" he exclaimed.

Zero had never heard more beautiful words.

He felt Stanley give him the suitcase, and he almost fell over. It was heavy.

"You did it," Zero said, sounding awed. One thing was for sure, he admired Stanley.

"_We _did it," Stanley said.

Zero grinned.

Stanley tried to pull himself out of the hole, and Zero was about to suggest they dug out footholds when suddenly a bright light was shining in their faces.

"Thank you," Zero heard the Warden say, "You boys have been a big help."

----------

---- A/N: Hi hi! I hope you liked that chapter. Hehe, I'm sorry I didn't update sooner. It's the holidays for me, but I mostly spent my time on Neopets. _(Cowers from angry readers)_Sorry! :) Hehe. I have A LOT of editing to do for the next chapter... So you won't see an update very soon. :( Pwease dont hurt me! Hehehe... wow, Neopets is SO fascinating sometimes! LOL. Who's seen Swan Princess? (Swan Lake?) I love that movie. So sweet. And that French frog cracks me up. Hehehe. Yeah, Zero is cute. :) He's so adorable. Hehe, Magnet's pretty cute too. I love his accent.

Anywho...

I have to go now and seek revenge on no one in particular.

Zero: (waves while sucking on a lollipop) We went to tha thopping thentre today.

Shopping centre... Yup. We went to Target and saw Holes DVD posters. :D

Zero: MTHQ almotht pathed out with exthitement.

SHHH!

--MSQ.


	21. Stanley Yelnats

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

**Chapter Twenty ll Stanley Yelnats**

----------****

Zero sincerely wished he had been a bit more careful when he had gone to fill the water jars. He had_ known_ someone was watching him -- but he had been too ignorant to worry about it. Turns out Mr. Pendanski had seen him while he snuck into the kitchens.

Zero was sitting on his knees, holding onto the suitcase tightly, which was on his lap. Mr. Pendanski directed the flashlight to him, then back to Stanley, who was still in the position of climbing out of the hole.

They were caught.

Zero carefully shifted his head and saw Mr. Sir, wearing nothing but pyjama bottoms. He quickly shrank his head back down.

"You boys arrived just in the nick--" the Warden started to say. She stopped talking and stopped walking. Slowly, she began to back away.

Zero was wondering what was wrong with her when he noticed movements on the suitcase.

There was a yellow-spotted lizard.

He sucked in his breath and tried not to breathe.

A second lizard crawled up on the side of the suitcase and stopped just an inch from Zero's little finger.

Zero glanced up at Stanley, who looked terrified. He tried to tell him to climb out of the hole, before the lizards turned on him, but Stanley was as still as a statue.

"There's another one!" he heard Mr. Pendanksi gasp.

Zero inwardly sighed. Then his eyes darted to the second lizard, which was crawling up his arm.

He stiffened up.

Mr. Pendanski's torch light was illuminating the hole -- both Stanley and Zero dared to glance down and they froze. They were standing in the middle of a lizard nest.

Zero couldn't see anything, seeing as he was sitting down in the deep hole, but he heard another three counselors approach.

"What's going-- Oh my God."

"What do we do?" Mr. Pendanski's voice sounded above them. Despite everything that was happening, Zero still felt like striking the shovel against his stupid face again.

He gripped onto the suitcase tighter as a third lizard came running up his leg.

"We wait," said the Warden, "It won't be very long."

_It? What's 'it'?_ Zero wondered, then, _Ahh... our deaths._

"She's going to ask a lot of questions," Mr. Sir was saying, "And this time she'll have the A.G. with her."

"Let her ask her questions," the Warden said impatiently, "Just so long as I have the suitcase. I don't care what happens. Do you know how long..." her voice trailed off, then started up again. "When I was little I'd watch my parents dig holes, every weekend and holidays. When I got bigger, I had to dig too. Even on Christmas."

Zero felt like yawning, but he didn't dare to. What if a lizard crawled into his mouth mid-yawn?!

"It won't be long now," the Warden said again.

Zero could still feel and hear his heart beat. Each beat told him he was still alive, at least for one more second. Glancing over to Stanley, he was relieved to see him blink. Stanley gently eased himself back down into the hole, so that he was in a more comfortable position.

He didn't know how long it had been, but Zero felt like he had been sitting rigidly for at least five minutes. He wondered why the lizards hadn't bitten him yet. But all the same, he was thankful.

He shifted the suitcase slightly -- the lizards didn't seem to mind. As he did so, he noticed some words across the top of the suitcase. It was too dark to make them out clearly, but he thought the first word began with an 'S'.

Zero almost kicked the suitcase away in shock when he heard Mr. Pendanski scream, then a gunfire blast. He guessed one of the lizards had tried to bite him, and Mr. Sir had shot it.

But somehow, he remained calm, though his heart was certainly beating a lot faster. Stanley glanced at him, and Zero looked back. Somehow, they were still both alive.

"I thought you quit," Zero heard one of the counselors say. He craned his neck and made out the figure of Mr. Sir lighting a cigarette.

"Yeah, well, sometimes sunflower seeds just won't cut it," he said, "I'm going to have nightmares the rest of my life."

"Maybe we should just shoot them," came Mr. Pendanski's voice.

"Who? The lizards or the kids?"

Mr. Pendanski laughed. He actually _laughed_ over the matter, "The kids are going to die anyway. At least we got plenty of graves to choose from."

Zero glanced back down at the suitcase. The first word began with an 'S' and a... 'T'.

"We've got time," the Warden was saying, "I've waited this long, I can wait another few..."

Her voice trailed off.

_St...a?_

"We're going to keep our story simple. That woman's going to ask a lot of questions. The A.G. will most likely initiate an investigation. So this is what happened: Stanley tried to run away in the night, fell in a hole, and the lizards got him. That's it. We're not even going to give them Zero's body. As far as anybody knows, Zero doesn't exist. Like Mum said, we got plenty of graves to choose from."

Zero had barely listened to her. He was concentrating on the words. It took his mind off matters.

"Why would he run away if he knew he was getting released today?" asked Mr. Pendanksi.

"Who knows? He's crazy. That was why we couldn't release him yesterday. He was delirious, and we had to keep watch over him so he wouldn't hurt himself or anybody else."

"She's not going to like it."

"She's not going to like anything we tell her," the Warden said.

_Stan_...

Zero tried to pronounce it in his mind, but it was hard, especially with the Warden blabbering on in the background. He tried to block out her voice, but it was difficult.

"Why aren't you dead yet?" the Warden asked him.

Zero said nothing. He was still working on the words. It was too dark to see the rest of the letters. Zero glanced around and saw the lizards, their milky white tongues flipping out. They seemed harmless. But he knew they were deadly.

Stanley seemed to be thinking about something. So deep in thought that he didn't even notice a lizard run down the side of his face.

Zero tried to get lost in his thoughts as well. _If I'm about die, I don't want to see lizards and the Warden and Mr. Sir and Mr. Pendanski... I want to see... my mother._

He closed his eyes and her face faded in. Her beautiful, warm face with her cheerful smile.

_"Happy birthday, my dear," she said, cuddling me close in her arms._

_I smiled and hugged her tightly. I looked around and saw colourful balloons and a big birthday cake. It had four candles stuck in it._

_She sang me the birthday song, then she sang me the beautiful lullaby. I blew out the candles and she clapped._

_We ate many pieces of cake and played some games. Later, we had ice cream and lollies._

"Hey, Caveman, guess what?"

Mr. Sir's voice interrupted Zero's trip down memory lane. Immediately, his mother's face disappeared. His eyes opened, and he glared at Mr. Sir.

"You're innocent, after all. I thought you'd like to know that. Your lawyer came to get you yesterday. Too bad you weren't here."

Zero gently let some air out of his mouth, blowing his hair off his forehead. So, they had finally realised Stanley was innocent. Whoopdeedoo. Too bad there was a ninety-nine percent chance that he was about to _die_ several seconds later.

Stanley hadn't seemed to have heard. He still looked to be deep in thought, in fact, dreamy.

---

"It's getting close to 4:30," Mr. Pendanski announced, "They'll be waking up."

Zero listened to them talk.

"Return to the tents. Tell the boys not to talk and give them breakfast. As long as they do as they're told, they don't have to dig anymore holes. If they talk, they'll be severely punished," the Warden ordered.

"How should we say they'll be punished?"

"Let them use their imaginations," the Warden replied simply.

_4:30._

Zero wondered how long he and Stanley had been in the hole. The lizards still had not bitten them. They remained quite stationary, flipping their tongues in and out.

Zero felt like yawning again. He could feel a lizard on his shoulder.

He saw Stanley looking at him. He slowly formed his hand into a fist, and raised his thumb.

Stanley managed a small smile back. Zero watched as he slowly allowed himself to lean against the side of the hole. The lizards surrounding Stanley didn't seem to mind.

---

The sun was up, and Zero's heart was still beating.

It was a fair miracle.

Now that there was light, he could see the letters. There were two words on the suitcase. The first one had the letters:

_S -- t -- a -- n -- l -- e -- y._

He wondered what that spelt.

He tried breaking the word into two.

_S -- t - an._

"Satan," Zero said. In the distance, he could hear the campers getting their bowls of cereal in the Mess Hall.

"Why don't you go see if you can take the suitcase from Zero," the Warden suggested.

"Yeah, right," Mr. Sir scoffed. He and the Warden were the only ones left. Mr. Pendanksi and the other counselors had returned to give the boys breakfast.

"The lizards aren't obviously hungry."

"Then you go get the suitcase."

Zero was still concentrating on the words.

"Sa--tan lee," he said, sounding the word to himself.

Stanley was looking at him in an odd way.

Zero flashed a quick thumbs up and returned back to the word.

Sometime later, they saw a tarantula crawl across the dirt.

"Look, a tarantula," Mr. Sir said, sounding fascinated.

Zero looked up and stiffened at the hairy black body.

"I've never seen one, except in--" the Warden started.

Zero trembled as a lizard leapt off Stanley's neck and pounced on the tarantula. Next thing he knew, the tarantula was gone and there was one hairy leg sticking out of the lizard's mouth.

"Not hungry, huh?" Mr. Sir scoffed.

Zero, feeling utmost terrified, stared rigidly at the two words written across the top of the suitcase. There was a similarity between the two of them, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

_S -- t -- a -- n -- l -- e -- y. Y -- e -- l -- n -- a -- t -- s._

_Sa--tah--nlee--ya._

_No, that's not right. When 'y's at the end of a word, it makes the 'ee' sound._

_Stan-lee._

With a jolt of astonishment, he realised the first word spelt "Stanley". Zero, now feeling light-headed and confused, glanced over at the owner of the name, who seemed quite unfazed with the whole fiasco.

----------

---- A/N: Okay, so I was wrong. The NEXT chapter is the one that needs editing. So that may take me awhile to post. :( Anywho, I know this chapter was boring. And so is the next one. And the one after that. And the epilogue after that is pretty boring too. No... IT'S ALL FUN AND GAMES! :) Okay, never mind. Hehe. I've been a bit busy, what with going out to the city and shopping at places far from home... And them yum cha-ing. :) Hehe. I was going to post tomorrow, as in a few minutes I'm supposed to leave to go shopping elsewhere. But I just remembered tomorrow I'm going with my friends to watch Wimbledon. Wow, I sound really pressed for time. LOL. Thanks for reviewing, dudes. Fools... hehehe. PEACE OUT! :) --MSQ.


	22. IT'S RAINING!

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

**Chapter Twenty One ll IT**'**S RAINING!**

----------****

As the sun rose, the lizards moved lower in the hole, keeping mainly in the shade. They were no longer on Stanley's head and shoulders, but had moved down to his stomachs, legs and feet.

As Zero glanced down at his body, he saw no lizards on him. But he could feel two of them between his knees, shading from the sun.

"How are you doing?" Stanley asked quietly. His voice sounded raspy.

Zero looked longingly at the jar of water on the surface of the hole, but didn't look too high up, as the sun's rays would hit him.

"My legs are numb," he said quietly. He had figured out what the second word spelt, but there was something about the letters that made him think more. It seemed so similar to the first word.

Stanley Yelnats.

"I'm going to try to climb out of the hole," Stanley said. Zero nodded. He watched Stanley make an effort to climb up, but the lizards did not encourage him. To help time pass by, Zero started to recite the alphabet (silently in his mind) backwards.

As he reached 'U' he glanced down at the 'Stanley Yelnats' again.

Backwards...

Zero stopped suddenly and looked closely at the words.

_Y -- e -- l -- n -- a -- t -- s....... S -- t -- a -- n -- l -- e -- y._

Zero looked at Stanley, who was easing himself down into a sitting position.

"Is your last name your first name spelt backwards?" Zero asked him, staring at Stanley.

He looked surprised. He slowly nodded. Then he stared at Zero in amazement.

Both boys' heads jerked up as they heard the sound of cars approaching.

"You think it's them?" the Warden asked.

"It ain't Girl Scouts selling cookies," Mr. Sir replied.

---

Zero heard the cars come to a stop, then the sound of car doors opening and closing.

He looked around and could hardly see any lizards.

"Stanley Yelnats?"

Zero became alert and tried to look out of the hole. He thought he could see a short woman striding across towards them.

"Don't came any nearer! Danger ahead!" Mr. Sir said frantically, jumping forward and waving his arms like a maniac.

"You can't stop me," the woman snapped, "We'll get you out of there, Stanley, don't you worry."

"What in the tarnation!" a tall man exclaimed. Stanley and Zero glanced at each other and tried not to laugh.

They had _no idea_ who these people were. And it was funny, in a way. The two didn't even seem to remember that they were sitting right in the middle of a lizards' nest. It was like they were just out, chilling.

The stout woman turned to the tarnation man, "I'm telling you right now, if any harm comes to him, we will be filing charges not only against Ms. Walker and Camp Green Lake, but the entire state of Texas as well. Child abuse. False imprisonment. Torture."

The man was more than a head taller than her, and was able to look directly over her as he spoke to the Warden.

"How long have they been in there?"

"All night, as you can see by the way we're dressed. They snuck into my cabin while I was asleep, and stole my suitcase. I chased after them, and they ran out here and fell into the lizards' nest. I don't know what they were thinking."

Zero wondered how the Warden could make up such terrific lies.

"That's not true!" Stanley exclaimed, glancing up.

"Stanley, as your attorney, I advise you not to say anything," said the woman, "Until you and I have had a chance to talk in private."

Stanley kept his mouth shut. Zero was still wondering what was happening.

"It's a miracle they're still alive," the tall man commented, peering down into the hole. Zero stared up at him.

"Yes, it is," the Warden said, sounding disappointed.

"And they better come out of this alive," Stanley's lawyer warned, "This wouldn't have happened if you'd released him to me yesterday."

"It wouldn't have happened if he wasn't a thief," the Warden retaliated, "I told him he would be set free today, and I guess he decided he'd try to take some of my valuables with him. He's been delirious for the last week."

"Why didn't you release him when she came to you yesterday?" the tall man asked.

"She didn't have proper authorization," said the Warden.

Zero was becoming dizzy.

"I had a court order!"

"It was not authenticated."

"Authenticated? It was signed by the judge who sentenced him!"

"I needed authentication from the Attorney General," the Warden snapped, "How do I know it's legitimate? The boys in my custody have proven themselves dangerous to the society. Am I supposed to just turn them loose any time someone hands me a piece of paper?"

"Yes," Stanley's lawyer said stubbornly, "If it's a court order."

"Stanley has been hospitalized for the last few days," the Warden explained. Zero, with his mouth hanging open, glanced at Stanley, who seemed outraged.

"He's been suffering from hallucinations and delirium. Ranting and raving. He was in no condition to leave. The fact that he was trying to steal from me on the day before his release proves--"

Stanley pulled himself out of the hole, blinded with the shock that the Warden was saying such things about him that he hadn't thought about the lizards. The lizards hopped off of his legs as he swung his legs and arms onto the surface.

"Thank God!" exclaimed the Warden.

Zero looked up as Stanley helped him to his feet. He pulled Zero out of the hole, who was still holding onto the suitcase tightly. The lizards all disappeared into the hole, reclining in their shade.

Zero and Stanley staggered towards the woman and the tall man.

The Warden rushed to them. Before he knew it, her arms were tightly wrapped around Zero, trying to take the suitcase from him, "Thank God you're alive."

Zero jerked it free defiantly, glaring up at the Warden.

"It belongs to Stanley," he said firmly.

"Don't cause any more trouble," she warned, "You stole it from my cabin, and you've been caught red-handed. If I press charges, Stanley might have to return to prison. Now I'm willing, in view of all the circumstances, to --"

Zero hadn't the slightest idea what she was on about. But she was lying, and that was enough for him.

"It's got his name on it," he almost yelled.

The Warden stared at him as the woman pushed past the tall man to have a look at the suitcase.

"See?" Zero said defiantly, pointing at the two words, "Stan--ley Yel--nats."

Stanley looked as well, and Zero saw the shock and astonishment on his face. It was almost comical.

"You say you stole it from your cabin?" the tall man demanded of the Warden.

"That's im... poss... It's imposs..." she couldn't even say it.

Zero smiled. He knew he had won the battle.

---

The group walked back to the camp compound.

Stanley was in a daze. He seemed as if he had no idea what was happening, which wasn't at all unusual to Zero. He himself had not a clue what was going on.

The Warden was as dazed as Stanley.

"You can't even read," she said to Zero.

_That's what you think._

Zero didn't say anything.

The tall man turned out to be the Texas State Attorney, and Stanley's lawyer was called Ms. Morengo.

Mr. Sir went to get Stanley's belongings, and Mr. Pendanski had been told to get the boys something to eat and drink.

Zero felt a pit of sadness in his stomach. Stanley was leaving Camp Green Lake.

He'd be all alone again. He didn't feel like he could live by himself, not after having made such a good friend and been on such an adventure.

Zero sighed. Whenever things looked up for him -- he'd always be down in the hole again.

Mr. Pendanski returned with two cartons of orange juice and bagels. Zero drank the juice slowly, trying to digest what was happening.

"Wait!" the Warden exclaimed so suddenly that Zero almost choked on his juice, "I didn't say they stole the suitcase. It's _his_ suitcase, obviously, but he put my things in it!"

_Her lies are getting worse by the minute_, Zero thought silently, sipping his juice.

"That isn't what you said earlier," Ms. Morengo said stubbornly.

"What's in the suitcase?" the Warden asked Stanley, "Tell us what's in it, then we'll open it and see!"

Stanley didn't do anything.

"Stanley, as your lawyer, I advise you not to open your suitcase."

"He has to open it! I have the right to check the personal property of any of the detainees! How do I know there aren't drugs of weapons in there? He stole a car too! I've got witnesses!"

Zero looked at the Warden warily. She was nearly hysterical. He wondered what was in the suitcase.

"He is no longer under your jurisdiction."

"He has not been officially released. Open the suitcase, Stanley!"

"Do not open it."

Stanley still did nothing. He stared blankly into space. Zero felt like laughing. It was like watching a tennis match.

He tuned out. The next thing he knew, Ms. Morengo was hurrying Stanley away.

"C'mon Stanley, we have a lot to talk about."

Stanley had stood up, but he wasn't moving. He turned around and looked at Zero. Mr. Pendanski, the Warden and Mr. Sir were surrounding him. Zero glanced at them warily.

Zero gave him the thumbs-up.

"I can't leave Hector," Stanley said.

"I suggest we go," Ms. Morengo said urgently.

"I'll be okay," Zero said, trying not to show his bitter doubt of his words. His dark eyes rove from Mr. Pendanski, to the Warden, to Mr. Sir.

"Yeah, we'll take good care of Zero," Mr. Pendanski said, laying his hand heavily on Zero's shoulder.

Zero's eyes widened and he stiffened up.

"There's nothing I can do for your friend," Ms. Morengo said gently, "You are released pursuant to an order from the judge."

"They'll kill him," Stanley said determinedly.

"Come on Stanley, your parents are waiting."

Stanley still did not move. Zero looked at him gratefully.

"May I look at Hector Zeroni's file?" Ms. Morengo finally asked. Zero wondered how she knew his name.

"Certainly," the A.G. said, he turned to the Warden, "Ms. Walker, go get Hector Zeroni's file."

The Warden said or did nothing. Her eyes were on the suitcase in Stanley's hands.

"Well?"

"Get me the file of Hector Zeroni," she finally said to no one in particular.

Mr. Pendanski stared at the Warden and his eyes widened.

"Get it!" the Warden snapped.

Stanley gave Zero the thumbs-up. Zero smiled back. He was still lost on what was happening; all he knew was that it was something good.

The door to the Wreck Room opened, and both Stanley and Zero looked over.

Squid walked out dazedly, almost as if by accident, then he caught sight of Stanley and Zero and almost stacked it.

He gasped, "THEY'RE ALIVE!"

And he stumbled back in, shouting repeatedly, "They're alive! They're alive!"

Zero and Stanley glanced at each other, then smiled.

With Squid leading, D-tent and some other boys came charging out onto the porch, yelling.

"Caveman!"

"Yo, wassup Zero?!"

"Wassup man!"

Squid ran forward and Stanley grinned, while they gave each other a quick hug.

"Zero!" Squid turned to Zero and wrapped an arm around him.

Zero smiled, and hugged him back. Before he knew it, Magnet was in front of him and gave him a high five.

It was all a bit of a blur; lots of half-hugs and high-fives and thumps on the back.

"We thought you guys were buzzard food," Zigzag said, still looking shocked.

"Well, I'm not. I'm going home," Stanley said proudly.

"Goin' home?" Magnet echoed, looking disappointed.

"Man, you stink. Dude, whatcha bin eatin', man?" Armpit teased, giving Stanley a friendly shove.

Zero grinned.

"You stink like _onions_!" Magnet exclaimed while everyone else laughed.

The laughter and noise died down when Mr. Pendanksi came back out of the office.

"Well, uh," he suddenly hitched on a cheerful smile, "There seems to be no file of Hector Zeroni."

Zero stared at him and wondered _why_ he was grinning like an idiot.

"What?" the AG said, looking less than displeased.

"Is that so?" Ms. Morengo said, her eyebrows raised.

"What kind of camp are you running here?" the AG asked the Warden critically.

The Warden seemed to be yielding the question. She kept her arms firmly crossed and said with the air of someone producing their last shot, "A _nice_ one. If the state would give us some money, then maybe we'd have some-- _decent_ filing."

The AG had taken out his cell phone, "I'm ordering an investigation of this facility."

"Hey lady," Armpit suddenly said, speaking to Ms. Morengo, "You got a pen and paper I can borrow?"

Ms. Morengo looked a little flustered, "Nope, I don't. But it looks like _he_ does."

"Me?" Mr. Sir mouthed in a horrified way, while pointing at himself.

"Yeah, you got a pen?"

Mr. Sir hesitated for a second. Then he sidled closer and handed a pen, "Yeah... here's a pen."

Ms. Morengo took the pen and said impatiently, "You got paper?"

"...Here," Mr. Sir handed the clipboard which he had been hiding behind, and lifted his jacket to hide his face.

A tall man that had come with Ms. Morengo and the AG slowly took off his glasses, comprehension dawning on his face as he looked at Mr. Sir.

"Here you go," Ms. Morengo handed the items to Armpit.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Armpit began to write while D-tent crowded around him, looking. Zero craned his neck up to look and saw some numbers.

"Call my mum."

"What?" Stanley said, wondering if he had heard correctly.

"Tell her I said I was sorry. Tell her _Theodore,_ said he was sorry."

Squid and Magnet, both smiling proudly, patted him on the back. X-Ray clapped a hand on Armpit's back.

"I will, man. I definitely will," Stanley promised. Armpit smiled and they gave each other a bone-crushing hug.

"Marion Sevillo," the sunglasses guy said, looking smug.

"Ooh crap," Mr. Sir muttered, his eyes widening with fear.

The sunglasses guy had marched over and pushed him against the wall, and was now searching him.

"It's been a long time since El Paso," he found Mr. Sir's pistol, "You're violating your parole, carrying this weapon."

The Warden looked frantic and shocked, "Well, I had _no_ knowledge of that!"

Zero watched with interest and put his hands in his pockets.

"Oh yeah," Mr. Sir scoffed, still against the wall, "Just like you didn't know Pendanksi was no doctor neither."

"_What_?"

The boys began to laugh and Zero grinned. What right did Pendanski have in calling him stupid when he was just a lousy imposter?

"Sit down, Marion. You're under arrest. Again."

"Marion? Hey I didn't know that was a _man_'s name," Zigzag said with a grin.

There was even more laughter.

"...It ain't," Mr. Sir mumbled.

"Ooooh."

The AG switched off his phone, "Okay, this facility is now under our jurisdiction."

"_What_?" the Warden said, hardly able to believe it.

"Boys, put these bozos right there. Let them see the other side of the criminal justice system."  
  
"YEAH!" D-tent and all the other guys began to clap and cheer.

"Don't push me, I'm a lady!" the Warden yelled, outraged as they tried to lead her to sit down on the bench.

"Come on, Hector, you're coming with us. Let's go," Ms. Morengo said.

Zero didn't dare to believe what he had heard and looked at Stanley for reassurance. Stanley smiled and ruffled his hair, and together they took a step off the porch.

Suddenly, there was a low rumbling and a streak lightning halved the sky.

"What's that?" X-Ray asked, frowning.

One by one, everyone looked up, looks of awe on their faces. Slowly, they began to walk off the porch and hold out their hands as the soft _patter _of rain steadily grew louder and heavier.

"IT'S RAINING!"

"OH MY LORD!"

"YES!"

They began jumping up and down, cheering and screaming. They took off their hats and bandannas and swept their hands through their wet hair, crying out in happiness.

Zero stood there in the rain, letting it soak him. He was completely bewildered but still held a wide grin on his face. His curls drooped down in his eyes and his orange jumpsuit stuck to him. Stanley and Squid, who were running around cheering, came up behind me for a brief hug as they ran past.

Magnet and Zigzag were dancing around in a circle, their eyes squeezed shut as they shouted nonsense. Armpit and X-Ray were having a sort of wrestle in the newly-created mud. Squid picked up Zero and swung him around on his back in a circle, and both yelled.

Ms. Morengo ran off the porch to her white BMW, shielding herself from the rain, "Hector! Stanley! Come on!"

Zero did a sort of side-skip towards the car. He felt his soaking cap slap against him as he moved.

Stanley was about to run over when he met X-Ray, who put his hand on his shoulder.

"You be careful out there in the real world, a'ight?" he said, sounding a bit breathless as he had been busy cheering and dancing in the rain as well, "Coz not everyone's as friendly as us."

"Alright, boz. Hold up for me, I'm gonna miss you man," Stanley said with a grin. X-Ray, grinning, pulled him into a brief hug before he shoved him away. Stanley backed away, still facing the D-tent boys and squinting his eyes as the rain pounded on him.

"Alright guys, be good, keep your heads up!" he yelled through the rain.

"We'll miss you!"

"Alright Stanley-boy!"

"BYE!"

Zero watched as Stanley finally ran over to him. He had his hand on the lid of the trunk and was about to slam it shut when the Warden ran over to them.

"Stanley, won't you just open it?" she pleaded desperately, "Just let me see what's inside of it. Please."

Zero continued to watch as Stanley slammed the trunk shut and said sarcastically, "Excuse me?"

The Warden looked as if she had been slapped in the face and Stanley turned to high-five the grinning Zero. They climbed into the backseat of the car and looked out of the open window, where the crowd of boys were still roaring and going wild.

"D-tent!" Stanley yelled, pointing at the boys who were near the car.

"See you again!" X-Ray yelled back.

"See you!" Magnet and Squid chimed in, pointing right back at Stanley.

Armpit made a roaring noise as the rain slapped him. Zero laughed.

The car began to drive away and Zero and Stanley looked back and waved. They looked out the back window and saw Twitch chasing after them, but was stopped by Squid.

The rain continued to pound down into the empty lake.

One day, Camp Green Lake is going to become a Girl Scout camp.

Tough luck, Mr. Sir.

----------

A/N: Aww... I love that part of the movie. Especially the music they play. It's a real tear jerker. Or maybe I just cry easily. Lol. I actually watched and re-watched that part of the movie to get EVERY SINGLE MINISCULE detail. I wrote it all down, and I hope I didn't miss anything. :) I also turned on the subtitles. Hehe. Well, it's almost the end! Like seriously. One chapter 'till the epilogue... AHHH! It was really fun writing this.

Zero: HI EVEWYONE! (waves and pokes at readers) PWEATHE REVIEW! And eat cwookieth!

Yup, cookies are tasty. XD

Zero: (smiles adorably) One pwuth one ith two!

:O Even I didn't know that. (plots against smart three-year-olds)

Zero: Ahem. If woo are waitin' fwor MTHQ twoo updwate--

_(robotic voice) The Inspection Of CGL_

Zero: --then woo will havta wait fwor a wong twime. Thwe'th weewy buthy with thchool.

Amen to that. I didn't go to school because it's so FUH-REAKIN hot and we have this huge sport day. Devoted entirely to playing sport against three other schools for an ENTIRE DAY. No way am I going. Okay, well cya!

Zero: (waves goodbye) BWYEBWYE!__

--MSQ.


	23. If Only, If Only

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

**Chapter Twenty Two ll If Only, If Only**

----------

The two sat in the backseat of Ms. Morengo's car. The suitcase lay in between them. It was locked.

"You don't know what's in it, do you?" she had asked Stanley.

"No."

"I didn't think so."

The air conditioning was on, but they drove with the windows open because, "No offence, but you boys really smell bad."

Ms. Morengo was apparently a patent attorney, helping Stanley's father with the new product he invented. She had done a little investigation with Stanley, and found out he was innocent.

Zero smiled. _It's about time._

All he knew was that he was leaving Camp Green Lake. He didn't want to think what would happen to him after.

He needed to savour this happy moment.

"What did my father invent?" Stanley wanted to know, "Did he find a way to recycle old sneakers?"

"No, he's still working on that. But he invented a product that eliminates food odour. Here, I've got a sample of it in my briefcase. I wish I had more. You two could bathe in it."

Ms. Morengo opened her case with one hand and passed back a small can to Stanley.

He took it and glanced warily at Zero, who shrugged. Stanley pushed the little button down and a hissing noise sounded.

It had a fresh and somewhat spicy smell.

Zero took it from Stanley as he handed it to him.

"What's it called?" Stanley asked.

"We haven't come up with a name yet," Ms. Morengo said.

"Smells familiar," Zero said, sniffing the air.

"Peaches, right? That's what everyone says."

Peaches? Well that wasn't what Zero had been thinking of. It smelt a bit like...

The sploosh.

Smiling to himself, Zero laid his head against the window of the car door. As he did so, it struck him they were _returning back to civilization._

_He was leaving Camp Green Lake._

"Hey, Stanley?" he said suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"Don't call me Zero anymore," Zero grinned widely, "My name's Hector."

Stanley smiled back, "Alright then, Hector."

A little while later, Stanley Yelnats and Hector Zeroni fell asleep.

---

You all know what happens. Stanley and Hector get lots and lots of money. They both spend it in their own ways. The Yelnats got a new house (a big one, at that) that included a workshop and everything Stanley's father needed for his future inventions. Hector used some of his money to hire a team of private investigators.

Stanley and Hector walked out onto the veranda of an old pub. There was a bus stop out there, and they had been told that Miss Sapphire Zeroni would be coming.

Hector's stomach gave an enormous lurch. What ifs kept speeding in and out of his mind.

All he knew he was one thing.

_He was going to see his mother._

His mother that he hadn't seen in years.

They saw a bus in the distance.

"Ready?" Stanley asked him.

Hector gulped and gave an unconvincing nod.

The bus stopped at the stop.

He felt like running away. 

A woman stepped off the bus. She had dark skin and black hair that was done up in a bun.

Hector sucked in his breath.

_It was her..._

She turned and looked at him.

A smile lit her face and crystal-like tears formed in her eyes.

"Hector," she whispered, her eyes glistening.

Something flashed in Hector's mind, like a choppy movie trailer.

_"I love you, Hector," she murmured, holding him close, "I'll never let go of you. Never."_

_"Stay here on this porch step. Now don't leave here until I get back," she'd tell him._

_"Never take anymore," Sapphire took care to tell him._

Hector took a step forward and stared at her. Her chocolate brown eyes full of warmth looked back.

Then he ran towards her and into her warm arms.

Sapphire hugged her son tightly, kissing the top of his head repeatedly.

"Oh, Hector, I love you," she murmured, smiling. Several tears ran down her face as she tightened her arms around her long lost son.

Hector, blinded by tears, buried his face in her stomach.

"I love you," he murmured as well.

Stanley smiled as his grandfather, also smiling, laid a warm hand on his shoulder.

Sapphire held on tighter and swung Hector around, gently rocking him from side to side. Sometimes she'd lift her head, which she mostly kept buried in the soft locks of her son's hair to look down at him, as if to make sure he was really there and that he wasn't just some figment of her imagination.

When she was assured that Hector was real, she'd smile through her tears and wrap her arms around him again.

Hector sniffed as he continued to hug his mother more and more tightly. He was never letting her go again.

Never.

Sapphire smiled, still holding onto Hector. _She_ was never letting go of him again.

_"I'll never let go of you. Never."_

_I want a mum that'll take my hand, and make me feel like a holiday._

_A mum to tuck me in that night, and chase the monsters away._

_I want a mum that'll read me stories and sing a lullaby._

_And if I have a bad dream, to hold me when I cry._

_When she says to me, she will always be there._

_To watch and protect me, I don't have to be scared._

_And when she says to me, I will always love you._

_I won't need to worry, 'cause I know that it's true._

_I want a mum when I get lonely._

_Who will take the time to play._

_A mum who can be a friend, and a rainbow when it's grey._

_I want a mom to read me stories, and sing a lullaby._

_And if I have a bad dream, to hold me when I cry._

_I want a mum that will last forever._

_I want a mum to make it all better._

_I want a mum that will last forever._

_I want a mum that will love me whenever._

_Whatever._

_Forever._

---

"We still need a name," Stanley's father was saying, holding the can of eliminating-foot-odor stuff.

Hector, who was sitting in Sapphire's lap, glanced at Stanley and grinned.

They were in the Yelnats' lounge room, having tea. Mr. Yelnats still needed a name for his product.

"I think Hector has a suggestion," Stanley spoke up.

All eyes fell on him.

Hector shifted uncomfortably. He glanced at Stanley and his mother warily. They both gave him encouraging smiles.

"Sploosh," he finally said.

Stanley's grandfather and mother exchanged glances.

But Mr. Yelnats was delighted, "Sploosh! Now why didn't _I_ think of that! Well, three cheers for Mr. Zeroni on that one!"

"Way to go, Zero," Stanley said with a grin, holding his hand up for a high-five.

Hector laughed at his little nickname and slapped his hand into Stanley's.

Sapphire wrapped her arms around Hector's waist and held him close.

---

"It's on!"

The commercial showed a baseball game. Amid a cloud of dust, Clyde Livingston slid into home plate as the catcher caught the ball and tried to tag him out.

"Safe!" shouted the umpire as he signalled with his arms.

The people at Stanley's house cheered as if the run really counted.

Clyde Livingston got up and dusted the dirt off his uniform. As he made his way back to the dugout, he spoke to the camera, "Hi, I'm Clyde Livingston, but everyone around here calls me 'Sweet Feet'."

"Way to go Sweet Feet!" called another baseball player, slapping his hand.

Besides being on the television screen, Clyde Livingston was also sitting on the couch next to Stanley.

"But my feet weren't always sweet," the TV Clyde said as he sat on the dugout bench, "They used to smell so bad that nobody would sit near me in the dugout."

"They really did stink," said the woman sitting on the couch on the other side of Clyde. She held her nose with one hand and fanned the air with the other. Clyde shushed her.

"Then a team mate told me about Sploosh," said the TV Clyde. He pulled a can of Sploosh out from under the dugout bench and held it up for everyone to see.

"Sploosh!" Hector called out gleefully. Everyone chuckled.

"I just spray a little on each foot every morning and I really do have sweet feet. Plus, I like the tingle," the TV Clyde said, spraying his feet.

"Sploosh," said a voice-over," A treat for your feet. Made from all-natural ingredients, it neutralizes odor-causing fungi and bacteria. Plus, you'll like the tingle."

Everyone clapped at the Yelnats' house.

Hector was sitting beside Sapphire on the sofa, his head on her shoulder. They lived right next door to the Yelnats', but they frequented over for dinner and parties or just for a chat.

All the boys of D-Tent had been invited over for a party, to celebrate the new product 'Sploosh'. They were all laughing, cheering and having a very good time being together.

"C'mon, who wants to dive bomb?" X-Ray (Rex) called out, running back out to the swimming pool.

"Oi! Wait for me!" Armpit (Theodore) yelled, running after him. The others boys followed, except for Hector. He was content with sitting with his mother, enjoying the moment with her.

Sapphire smiled at her son and kissed his forehead. Fluffing up his hair she slowly hummed.

_"If only, if only,_   
_The moon speaks no reply,_   
_Reflecting the sun and all that's gone by._   
_Be strong my weary wolf, turn around boldly,_   
_Fly high, my baby bird,_   
_My angel, my only."_

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A/N: YO!! :) I had an interesting week that I will not go in depth with. 'Twas... interesting. Hehe. I'M GOING ON CAMP NEXT WEEK! I am so tired right now and I wanna watch Ever After which is the movie on tonight, so I'm not in the mood to be excited about camp. But still, I'm looking forward to it... sort of. Hehe. IT'S ALMOST THE END! I hope you loved that. Yes, LOVED IT! Bwahahaha. Actually, this _is_ the end. LOL. The next chapter is the epilogue... Oh jelly, this is scary. I know sometimes the story got a little boring, but I still hope you enjoyed it! With all your dear little heart! :) I love you all so much for being here and always reviewing. You all rule and deserve emmy's! :) --MSQ.

PS. The little italicised part after Zero hugs his mother are song lyrics by Cyndi Lauper. The song is called "I Want A Mom That Lasts Forever" and it's in Rugrats in Paris. Anyway, I sort of formatted it a bit so that it sounds like Zero is thinking these things, instead of song lyrics.


	24. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I certainly do not own Zero ((but he's sooo cute)) nor do I own many other things Louis Sachar and Walt Disney have made up. HOLES belongs to Mr. Sachar, THINGS-YOU-DO-NOT-RECOGNISE probably belong to me.

**My Angel, My Only**

**Epilogue**

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Not exactly your average fairy tale, right? But all in all, my life has definitely had a few twists.

I found out my mother didn't abandon me for no reason, after all. She didn't hate me.

She was on her way to a job interview when some loser whacked her on the head with a shovel (a bit strange, don't you think?) to rob her.

I always knew wearing fancy clothes gave the wrong impression.

Of course, my mum had nothing worth stealing. But she was unconscious because she took a pretty hard blow to the head.

Some people found her and rang the ambulance. She was in a coma for a couple of days. I find that hard to believe, but it's true. I guess the loser hit her really hard on the head, or the shovel was pretty damn heavy.

When she finally woke up, she had trouble remembering whom she was and that she had son. One of the doctors actually turned out to be one of her older first cousins or something, and they helped her out.

By the time she finally gained her memory completely, and she proved no threat to herself or to the society, they released her. But by _that_ time, I had already left Laney Park. The first cousin let my mother stay at her house with their family. Very nice people, they were.

She was trying to look for me. She told me she went to Laney Park every day to check if I was there. If she had, then we probably had just missed each other. Maybe I was sitting on the bus stop when she walked right passed it.

My mum had gotten a well-paying job and a place of her own. All the same, she had been desperately searching for me. She tried everything, but I had made myself difficult to locate because I always moved around and whenever I went to the homeless shelter, I put a different name down.

The thing she told me was, she never gave up searching for me. She even bought me another stuffed giraffe, which I named Jaffy II.

And you know what?

My mum is the best.

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A/N: YAY IT'S THE END! So anyway, I hope the craptastic reason why Zero's mum took ages to return was... believable. I was gonna make it so that she got abducted by aliens from outer space... lol, kidding! :) Thanks for reviewing you gorgeous little dears. :) Especially to those who reviewed EVERY CHAPTER since... the beginning! Such as Ronniekinsgrl, Spice of Life, Nosilla, Mellabee... And Xylem for reviewing me heaps recently! :) Also, Lucky38, Marshmallows... and if I've missed anyone, send me a flame and scream terrible things at me! Hehehe... please feel free! :) Hehehe, vute! Lol, you guyses reviews are like... THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY DAYS! :) And... sniff... it's the end... aww...

Zero: (bawling into his hanky and Jaffy) I don't wanna weave!

NEITHER DO I! (bursts into tears)

Zero: WAAAAAAAAAAAH! I wuv thwe reviewerth... pweathe don't make 'em weave...

SNIFF SNIFF. Okay Zee... we must remain composed and-- WAAAHH!! ...Um... sniff... thank you SO much everyone... And for those who praised me for not making my first story a "Mary-Sue"... thanks. :) Oh, and I'm working on another Holes fic. Two, as a matter of fact. Here are the titles and summaries.

_Like Family_

_The news that Squid cries at night spreads around and before you know it, he's become the object of everyone's taunts. But he's not alone. D-tent sticks together. More importantly, they'll stand up for one another. Like family._

Okay, this one is actually going to humor instead of angst... lol. But it's going to show the brotherly bondness between D-tent, which I _adore_ because it's so cute. :)

_Make A Wish_

_Six-year-old Kiara Zeroni made a wish. That one day she'll meet her Prince Charming and have four kids. Your classic love story on Zero's parents; how they met, how they fell in love, and what drove them apart..._

Aww, this one is going to romance. :) And lots of drama. For those who don't reckon I can't write romance very well (hehe, take a look at CGL reviews... I'm just trying to be aloof, people!) then go and check my HP stuff. :) I know I'm not doing a terribly great job on Inspection of CGL when it comes to romance, but I'm just trying to not make it obvious. Okay? Cool. :)

So they're my new stories that I will post... one day. :) But for now... bye bye.

Zero: (blows his nose and waves... then hugs everyone)

--MSQ.

PS. BOTH STORIES UP THERE (Like Family and Make A Wish) are copyrighted! Including the summaries. You steal, I kill. :)


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